Thousands of hectares destroyed in Vryheid fire
Up to 20 000 hectares of land could have been destroyed by a veld fire in Vryheid which claimed the life of one person.
The raged for close on nine hours yesterday before it was put out completely this morning.
The blaze inferno spread to the R34 - engulfing a minibus taxi.
Paramedics found that one person had already died while another two suffered severe burns.
More than a dozen others were treated for smoke inhalation.
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The KZN Fire Protection Association says firefighters also tackled several large fires in Newcastle, Winterton and Frere - most of which were brought under control by yesterday evening.
The association's Simon Thomas says dry and windy conditions have increased the fire risk in certain areas.
"Conditions are extreme out there. It's very dry - especially up in the grasslands areas and yesterday's winds were extreme. I heard figures of gusts of up to 100 kilometres an hour in places like Utrecht. Conditions were extreme and under these conditions - any fire is going to spread very quickly," he says.
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