Northern Cape farmers struggle to put fire out

Cattle farmers in the Cordonia district near Upington in the Northern Cape have been struggling to extinguish a veldfire.

The blaze started on Sunday during a thunderstorm when a bolt of lightning set the dry veld on fire. Eddie Nowers, the chairperson of the Kalahari Padkloof Farmers Union, says they have been trying to get help from the national department of agriculture and the army.

The provincial agriculture department said it could only provide assistance after an assessment had been made. The drought in the Northern Cape has lead to very dry grazing land that is vulnerable to veld fires.