Visuals of the smoke from the New England Road landfill site in Pietermartizburg on Friday
- The Msunduzi Municipality says smoke from the New England Road landfill site should be gone soon.
- A meeting will be held to discuss whether it should be declared a disaster site.
- Residents and motorists have been urged to keep their windows closed.
Smoke from the New England Road landfill site that permeated the busy N3 highway and overwhelmed the area will soon clear, the Msunduzi Municipality said on Friday.
“After speaking to the experts on the ground, they are explaining that because it’s the morning and there is dew which forms at the Duzi River, it’s the combination of the smoke and dew, because they have been putting the fire out overnight,” spokesperson Thobeka Mafumbatha told News24.
She agreed that the smoke was overwhelming.
“People are a bit rattled by what has been happening this morning. We tried to enter the landfill site, but truly we cannot. The smoke is engulfing the entire area and the surrounding areas.”
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Mafumbatha said there should be a respite soon, because the fire was under control.
“Everything is under control and the fire has been put out. But the smoke, they can’t really say how long it will take to clear up, but as the morning has started, the smoke should be clearing up anytime soon.”
Long-term solutions?
She said there was a meeting taking place on Friday between the municipal manager, senior managers, officials from the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) and the Department of Economic Development and Tourism and Environmental Affairs.
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Mafumbatha said the meeting would also decide if the landfill site would be declared a disaster zone.
“There’s been a lot of speculation that the municipality is saying that we are going to be declaring the site a state of disaster. After this meeting, only then, will we be able to know if that is going to be the route taken, or if there are other alternatives.”
‘The war on the fire has been won’
She urged the public to remain cautious as smoke continued to fill the surrounding areas.
“We would like to state to the public, we know this is not easy in light of Covid-19, but we do appeal to residents, those who can stay home should stay home. People must close their windows, even those driving their cars.”
Mafumbatha insisted that the situation was under control.
“The situation is [attended to], our firemen are on site as we speak. The war on the fire itself has already been won. Unfortunately, it is the issue of the smoke. It should be expected, because the smoke rises up after the fire has been put out.”
