Fire Hazard Posed by Simon’s Town Navy Ammunition Depot

Experts warn that the land managed by the SA National Defence Force (SANDF) in the Cape Peninsula poses a significant fire risk. The SANDF has not complied with legal requirements to remove invasive alien vegetation and maintain firebreaks.

The SANDF is a major land manager in and around Cape Town, overseeing properties at Wingfield, Ysterplaat, Youngsfield, the 9th SA Infantry, and extensive areas in and above Simon’s Town in Klawer Valley.

Virtually all these lands appear to be overrun with invasive alien species such as Port Jackson (Acacia saligna), rooikrans (Acacia cyclops), wattle, and gum trees, which are required to be eradicated or regulated under the National Environmental Management and Biodiversity Act. A preliminary inspection by GroundUp shows that the SANDF is not taking action on this front.

However, the land above Simon’s Town raises the greatest alarm for wildfire management experts.

“Invasive plants are the most significant threat regarding wildfires in South Africa,” states retired Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) deputy director-general Guy Preston.

Preston, who founded Working on Fire during his tenure at DFFE, pointed out that all 56 buildings lost in the 2000 Table Mountain fires were adjacent to invasive species, as were seven of the eight structures that were destroyed in the 2015 blaze. Additionally, the single home affected by last year’s fire on the Kalk Bay mountainside was also surrounded by invasive alien vegetation.

GroundUp has noted that the land within the SANDF’s ammunition storage perimeter above Simon’s Town is rife with invasive alien vegetation. Similarly, the area around the signals school also shows the presence of invasive plants, with no visible firebreaks at any SANDF bases in Cape Town.

Philip Prins, chairperson of the Cape Peninsula Fire Protection Association (CPFPA), stated that neither the SANDF nor the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure, the overarching authority for managing state land, are part of the association.

Nevertheless, the National Veld and Forest Fire Act of 1998 clearly states: “The owner of state land must join any fire protection association registered in the area where the land is located.”

Thami Mchunu, spokesperson for the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure, explained that the Department of Defence and Military Veterans was “the allocated user” of the land at SANDF bases in and around Cape Town, responsible for clearing invasive vegetation and maintaining firebreaks on those properties.

Mchunu acknowledged that the DPWI is not a member of the fire protection association, but noted that they had “reached out” to the association on January 27 to “initiate the membership registration process.”

GroundUp directed questions to the Department of Defence but received no response. Calls to the head of communications also went unanswered.

Prins mentioned that he had discussions with various SANDF members about joining the association and managing fire risks on the land.

Initially, he worked with a commander who kept putting them off but has since met with the Lieutenant-Colonel responsible for SANDF property in the province.

Prins noted that the Lieutenant-Colonel indicated the SANDF lacked the funds to cover the association’s membership fee. He stated that the cost for SANDF-managed land in the Cape Peninsula would be less than R30,000 annually.

However, he shared that the association received a call from the Department of Public Works last week expressing interest in signing up all government properties.

According to a government booklet detailing wildfire laws and prevention strategies, fire protection associations create and implement wildfire management strategies and establish binding rules for their members. Membership is voluntary for private landowners, but compulsory for “organs of state.”

Prins explained that the association visits its members’ properties to identify wildfire threats, after which the landowner must draft a plan with timelines to mitigate risks, such as establishing firebreaks and removing invasive alien species. Consequently, if legal action is taken against a member due to losses incurred from a wildfire that started on, or spread from, their land, the complainant must prove the member was negligent. Non-members, however, are presumed negligent and must prove otherwise.

As it stands, the SANDF is exposed to potential lawsuits from neighboring landowners regarding losses sustained from a wildfire.

“I doubt they can handle a braai fire,”

Prins and other firefighting professionals have expressed that the SANDF no longer possesses the resources to address fires on its properties.

Images from Google Earth indicate that the Castle Rock fire in December 2023 consumed 3,400 hectares from Simon’s Town to Scarborough, nearing the perimeter of the ammunition depot on navy land in Klawer Valley, which is overrun with fire-accelerating invasive alien species.

When asked how firefighters avoided the blaze from encroaching on the depot, Dean Ferreira, owner of NCC Environmental Services, replied: “Luck.”

Ferreira’s company is contracted by SANParks to combat wildfires on its property. He revealed they dedicated all available resources to prevent the fire from infiltrating the depot. Although the fire did breach the perimeter briefly, it inflicted no damage.

He mentioned this was not the first time a fire had posed a threat to the depot in his 40 years of experience; however, it’s difficult for ordnance to detonate. “The heat would need to be extreme,” he noted, for artillery shells to explode. Nonetheless, they received repeated instructions to evacuate within a 2km radius of the depot, yet they remained to combat the fire, partly due to a private landowner client in the valley.

Ferreira added that previously, the SANDF could be relied upon for wildfire responses because of their equipment and fit personnel, but that capacity has waned.

“In the past, when a fire occurred, the navy would show up in droves … now, I don’t think they can manage a braai fire.”

SANParks fire manager Justin Buchman indicated that the Castle Rock fire’s intensity partly stemmed from invasive alien plants on SANDF land.

“The severity of that fire, particularly in areas like Klawer Valley (housing multiple SA Navy facilities), was exacerbated by the abundance of alien vegetation,” explained Buchman.

He noted that local residents adjacent to SANDF land around Simon’s Town have been clearing firebreaks, but the infestation of invasive alien plants on SANDF holdings is so severe that these efforts prove ineffective.

Buchman added that the presence of invasive species around the SANDF ammunition stores complicates firefighting efforts considerably.

However, he emphasized that following the extensive burning of navy land above Simon’s Town, the SANDF has a crucial opportunity to “get ahead” of invasive alien plant removal.

Still, he cautioned: “If they do not act on invasive clearing now, it will become ten times worse in five years.”

He pointed out that Table Mountain National Park has made attempts to collaborate with the navy, yet the challenge lies in the frequent changes in command, with each new commander bringing differing priorities.

“However, we have built strong relationships in the past.”

Regarding a Department of Defence five-year tender issued in July 2023 for cleaning invasive alien vegetation and establishing firebreaks around navy facilities in Simon’s Town, Buchman stated he was unaware of any developments.

“What we’ve observed is that firebreaks have not been cut.”

GroundUp has been unable to discover any details online regarding the tender’s award, and the Department of Defence has not responded to inquiries on the matter.

© 2025 GroundUp. This article originally appeared here.

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