Every winter the smell of smoke hangs in the air as fires burn alongside roads, down mountains, around farms, and just about everywhere else with enough brush to catch ablaze. The most common start to these is travelers waiting on the side of the road for the next taxi who build a fire to keep warm and then fail to completely put it out or even attempt to put it out when the next taxi arrives. Farmers also burn fire lines around their properties to protect crops.
In the 11 years I've been in Southern Africa the only time I've seen the fire brigade handle a brush fire was when the kids and I happen to see training exercise one afternoon in which several firemen were putting out a small brushfire. It was such an odd thing to witness because they never bother with these fires. It's not uncommon to drive through thick clouds of black smoke when fires have jumped the road and are burning on both sides. These photo are of a fire beside a major road in Phokeng and two more from the back wall of our garden where you can see flames just behind our house and across the road.
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