On 30 April 2024, CapeNature hosted a firefighters appreciation event at Assegaaibosch Nature Reserve to honour the brave men and women who were on the frontlines during the Western Cape’s fire season.

A representative group of firefighters attended the event on behalf of CapeNature’s 240 firefighters. Despite facing extreme heat and challenging terrain, the firefighters worked together seamlessly, never once wavering in their commitment to protect land and communities. Their tireless work helped to prevent costly damage to property and infrastructure and ensured damage to sensitive biodiversity was kept to a minimum.

The event also recognised International Firefighters’ Day, held annually on 4 May, which highlights the important contributions of all personnel working in the fire services globally. In this spirit, CapeNature showed its appreciation to our partners who provided support and personnel during the course of the fire season.

These included the Cape Winelands District Municipality, Overberg District Municipality, West Coast District Municipality, NCC Environmental Services, Working on Fire, Provincial Disaster Management Centre, Cape Peninsula Fire Appreciation Association, Winelands Fire Appreciation Association, Greater Overberg Fire Appreciation Association, Greater Cederberg Fire Appreciation Association, and Volunteer Wildlife Services.

The representative group as well as the Entity’s partners were heralded for their services by Western Cape Minister for Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning Anton Bredell.

"The courage shown by the CapeNature staff is truly commendable. Their efforts have not only protected lives and property but have also helped preserve our natural heritage for future generations," remarked Minister Bredell.

CapeNature CEO Dr Ashley Naidoo expressed his gratitude to the firefighters, saying, “The men and women in the fire services have worked resolutely to protect communities, biodiversity, and infrastructure. Without these brave firefighters, the devastation and destruction wrought by the recent fire season would have been on a much larger scale.”

The fire season typically runs from December through to April, while the 2023/2024 fire season was particularly challenging for firefighters across the province, with 135,000 ha that burned. CapeNature provided support to fires on 63,485 ha of land while 22,530 ha was on CapeNature land.