Insurance poser after blaze at wine estate

Published Jan 21, 2017

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While saving five guests staying in cottages on Druk My Niet wine estate from a fire sweeping down the mountain, farm supervisor James Johanneson lost his own home in the flames.

But Johanneson, 63, and his wife, Karen, daughter, Johandra, and three grandchildren, survived the fire in Paarl on January 9.

Twelve people were on the farm the night the fire swept through, but no one was hurt.

The farm employs seven people, including Johanneson’s wife.

Johanneson, who has lived on the farm for 16 years, lost all his belongings in just 20 minutes.

“When we started to work here, there was nothing. We employees and the owner of the farm built up everything, but as of January 9 nothing will be the same anymore because we must rebuild our lives.”

Johanneson recalled the night of fear and flame, saying he could hear screams from the guest cottages.

“The fire started at about 11pm. My daughter woke me up because she could smell fire. I got up and looked out of the window and I saw nothing but could smell smoke as well. I opened the back door and saw the fire.

“I got dressed and drove the tractor up to the guest houses.

“When I arrived, two guests were scrambling out of their vehicle because they could not find their keys. They were screaming for help.

“Some were still sleeping inside with the house on fire. I woke them up and when they saw the fire they ran to the tractor with nothing.”

After evacuating the guests off the property, Johanneson, dazed by smoke, drove back to his own home to see it also burning and his family huddled on the road. Moments later the roof caved in.

“When I came down I saw my house was on fire. It was too late for me to do anything, but my family was safe. When the roof started burning, my daughter woke my wife.

“She was in her nightgown and nothing else. She ran out with the children to the road. There was no time to save anything. In addition, my wife suffers from asthma.

“There was nothing we could salvage, not even a spoon, and there was valuable stuff inside, like my wife’s R15000 record collection.”

When Weekend Argus arrived, some of the side walls had also collapsed. The contents were almost unrecognisable, apart from bedsprings and some half-melted spoons.

Johanneson’s home was insured under the farm owner’s cover, but the contents were not.

The family has received counselling.

Although all was lost, Johanneson has hope for the future and a new chapter for his family.

“On the bright side, we all still have jobs for now. I’d like to work until the age of 70. My retirement must happen on this farm. Even though there’s still a lot that needs to be done, I am stronger than ever before, because I want to look after the family.”

Johanneson and his family have found temporary shelter at a neighbouring farm.

“Donations came from all over. We received accommodation, clothing, food, cutlery and books and pens for the school children. The donations are still coming in. I thank the people who gave me these donations, I feel very good and proud of it.”

Agriculture and Economic Development MEC Alan Winde said global rising temperatures had increased the Western Cape’s fire risk.

Damage caused to agricultural lands during this spate of fires is still to be ascertained.

“The economic cost is not limited to the financial damage. Businesses will not be able to operate while repairs are under way.

“This could affect bookings, bottom lines and most importantly, jobs. We’ve also had reports of crop damage due to fires in various parts of the province, and in Paarl.

“Our Smart Agri team advised of the province’s rising fire threat. Climate change experts projected the frequency and intensity of fires would increase.

“This is why we have prioritised building local capacity in fire-fighting and fire-risk reduction in our Smart Agri plan. Catchment management is another key priority. Landowners who fail to manage their catchment areas pose a major threat to their neighbours, and the spread of fires.”

Insurance specialist Annelie Smith said there had been a spike in the number of fire claims.

“Even if the farmers were sufficiently covered they almost certainly face the possibility of uninsurable expenses, additional labour expenses, crop-seedling shortages and material needed to re-establish the applicable vineyard or plantation.

“Unfortunately, there are no proper alternatives to cover oneself against devastating perils. One has to always implement risk-mitigation measures across all areas of farming to ensure that your risk is as small as possible and to ensure that you understand what type of exposure you have, but ultimately being properly insured is the best protection.”

Carl Opperman, chief executive at Agri-Western Cape, said the fires and drought in the province had placed an increasing burden on farmers.

The fires had caused the destruction of vineyards and agricultural infrastructure worth millions of rand, putting economic sustainability under pressure and causing a ripple effect on the total community.

“The Western Cape’s agricultural sector is still suffering from the drought and critical water shortages. The devastating fires raging in the Western and Southern Cape since the end of 2016 are putting the sector and the already limited available water under further pressure.”

Agri Western Cape is hoping that the winter will bring much-needed rain to the province.

“We have seen two seasons with under-average rain and snow falls. Until winter we are looking at very high temperatures, empty dams, dry grazing and further veld fires.

“Our extensive farming areas are still in dire need of feed. Agri Western Cape is still assisting producers in the drought-stricken Central Karoo and West Coast regions with feed. Very little rain has fallen so far in the summer rainfall region of the Karoo.

“Water shortages remain a huge challenge and Agri Western Cape is worried about the long-term effect of the drought on the province’s strong export commodities that need water for production, like our grain, wine and fruit industries.”

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