On monday night We witnesssed the back of howick up in flames most of the forestry plantations were burned and many farmers and alike lost there homes and fields and forest's...

It did however not reach the town but burned most of the farmlands... And is still smoldering now...

We suspect it was arsen....

wow that sucks, glad you guys ok tho.

That sounds bad. What's going to happen as a result?

What is going to be done about the loss of farmlands? Seems to me that prices for various stuffs are gonna rise for you guys...

thats crazy odd, glad you guys are safe.

It was a bad day....
the damage estimate is around 40 000ha (Hectares). A LOT of farmers are badly affected, lands burnt, houses destroyed, the commercial forestry plantations were also badly hit...
2 firemen also died, 1 of them in an accident, the fire engine crashed whilst going to the fire at a bed and breakfast (guest lodge).
the next day it snowed all over the place, which just made things worse for them (the heaviest snow falls South Africa has had for many years).

It is fire season here at the moment, which is our most dangerous time for fires due to the dryness of our winters....

It can snow in South Africa? Wow, i never knew that was possibly.

neither did I

If it was arson, I'd wonder why that person did it. Like that Griffith Park fire... was he smoking then he fell asleep or was it something else? Makes me wonder.....

Wow... that's bad...

If it was arson, the person responsible should have a taste of his/her own medicine.

Yowch, Bjossi, that's not how the modern world works. Been reading a lot of books about torture recently? I don't blame you. My thirst for brutality has hit an all time high ever since I printed the Mortal Kombat Fatality guide .

I wonder what Arsonists ever hope to achieve by setting things on fire...

Every arson brings this planet a little bit closer to ecological disaster, it costs the arsonist himself money in the form of taxes, it doesnt change anyones mind (Especialy not the governments) nobody gets any message at all from the arson, fire goes out of control and attacks the wrong targets easily and the arsonist will never be recognized for it....if they are, 50,000 people will hunt and kill him.

Why must they burn innocent farms? why I ask.

my condolences are given to you guys.

I don't need to read books to know that torture is an awesome way to punish.

: /

Good thing you don't work for the government.

I'm glad you're ok, stupid arsonists...

Yes, it snows every year, just not all over..mainly sticks to the high areas!
Just this year we've had more than normal!

Probably arson, or some fool throwing away a cigarette...although the theroy that a cigarette butt thrown away can start a fire has never been proven...I live in a forestry community (and involved with at work) and they've tried all sorts of secenarios with cigarettes...it just doesn't ignite anything (unless of course you throw petrol/gas on it) naturally!!

You think the government doesn't torture? That made my day.

Really now? Mind if I send this out to the Mythbusters?

hehehe... only if I get a copy of the episode it features in
love that show...

I'd like to think that your everyday, run-of-the-mill criminal bad guy isn't subjected to such ridiculous practices.

I mean there's no guarantee you'll get any sort of useful information from torture. People will start saying anything to make the pain stop, even if they know nothing in reality.

Of course! Oh these parking fines are absolute torture!

It is still more likely that criminals will talk if tortured than if you give them flowers and candy.

Speaking about torture, do they let authorities use the Chinese Water Trap? Mythbusters tested it and it can drive you to the point of complete insanity.

Well yes, that is probably true, but nowhere did I imply that we should start giving criminals flowers and candy instead of lengthy jail sentences.

Even if you get people to talk with torture, it's probable they're not saying anything usable.

Torture would still be a useful tool since the possibility of someone saying something truthful under pain is greater than the person making up a story under pain. Unless the person actually doesn't know then that just sucks to be him/her.

True, under immense pain you want it to be over as soon as possible, so either you tell the truth, lie, or simply say that you don't know anything.

Do you really think the torturer would believe you when you say you don't know anything? You're SOL until you make something up that satisfies them.

Torture just plain sucks. It's a shitty way of getting information, especially when other, more reliable options exist.

Really, torture just sucks. Especially when you have the wrong man.

ok, enough about torture!
This topic is about the fires!

You can find the articles here:
http://blog.ecr.co.za/newswatch/

(look for the "Midlands Fire destroys" and "One weather etxreme to another" articles).
They have pics as well...

There's a "More dramatic photos" link...?

Something seems odd about that to me...