Books

All material used to write The Cape Aflame – Cape Town’s Dance with Fire, an unfunded citizen-led initiative from start to finish, was researched online. However, after its publication in December 2015, I acquired and read several books that added tremendously to my knowledge of our fire-adapted fynbos biome. I highly recommend the following titles, each of which focuses on different aspects of our natural environment, to all who wish to learn more of our ‘dance with fire’ – thereby giving The Cape Aflame its appropriate context and value as a case study in wildfire, its containment, management and, if necessary, suppression.

Recommended Reading

Between Two Shores – Flora and Fauna of the Cape of Good Hope Michael Fraser and Liz McMahon David Philip 1994 First edition	In their first book, A Fynbos Year, Liz and Mike described and illustrated the small and fragile Cape Floral Kingdom, in which some of the world's rarest and most beautiful plants thrive. I use the word 'thrive' with some trepidation, as human activities have taken their toll of fynbos plants and animals and will continue to do so unless this unique ecosystem is successfully managed by those in authority, with the guidance of conservationists. Most important, everyone should be made aware that for much of the wildlife found in this part of the world there is a very thin line between survival and extinction. Harsh words but true. [....] I am only too aware of the importance of continuing the work of recording for posterity something as special as our fauna and flore, and of the responsibility borne by Liz and Mike and other in contributing to this task. As the world changes, we must be thankful that so much has been done to document our natural resources and surroundings. We must encourage such work, as paintings and descriptions of the kind presented in Between Two Shores will, in future, allow us to experience today's plants and animals in their natural milieu. One wonders what the future holds for much of the Cape's natural glory. Let the words and visual beauty in these pages remind us of our paramount responsibility to conserve what is left. From the Foreword by Steve Bales
Burning Table Mountain – An Environmental History of Fire on the Cape Peninsula Simon Pooley UCT Press 2015 First edition	Cape Town's iconic Table Mountain and the surrounding peninsula has been a crucible for attempts to integrate the social and ecological dimensions of wild fire. This environmental history of humans and wildfire outlines these interactions from the practices of Khoikhoi herders to the conflagrations of January 2000. The region's unique, famously diverse fynbos vegetation has been transformed since European colonial settlement, through urbanisation and biological modifications, both intentional (forestry) and unintentional (biological invasions). In all the diverse visions people have formed for Table Mountain, aesthetic and utilitarian, fire has been regarded as a central problem. This book shows how scientific understandings of fire in fynbos developed slowly in the face of strong prejudices. Human impacts were intensified in the twentieth century, which provides the temporal focus for the book. The disjunctures between popular perception, expert knowledge, policy and management are explored, and the book supplements existing short-term scientific data with proxies on fire incidence trends recovered from historical records.
Fire Manager's Handbook on Veld and Forest Fires – Strategies, Tactics and Safety William C Teie and Christiaan F Pool (Ed) South African Institute of Forestry 2009 Second (South African) edition, fifth impression	The SAIF, in conjunction with William C Teie, published the 2nd edition of the Fire Managers Handbook on Veld and Forest Fires in 2009. Tiaan Pool of NMMU Saasveld edited the Handbook. The Handbook offers the user a thorough understanding of the numerous complicated principles and procedures that ensure safe and effective forest fire fighting. Knowledge to be gained from the Handbook includes: how to predict fire behaviour; control line construction; proper use of water; incident command and organisation; how to use aircraft; how to protect structures during a major wildfire and most of all, how to fight a wildfire safely. The key topics include: • Fire weather • Topography and fuels • Fire behaviour • Fire line safety • Fire prevention and protection • Fire suppression strategies • Use of fire fighting resources • Structure protection • Fire organisation and management • Prescribed fire management • The National Veld and Forest Fire Act
Fynbos - Ecology and Management Karen J Esler, Shirley M Pierce and Charl De Villiers (Eds) Briza Publications 2014 First edition	The fynbos region is one of the most spectacularly diverse places on Earth. This is not an idle statement. When one considers the diversity of insects, freshwater and marine species also associated with the Cape, this hotspot is arguably the hottest of all. It is also confusingly heterogeneous, with a diversity of fine-scale habitats, from wetlands in the lowlands to seeps in the mountains, unique soil, nutrient, aspect and rainfall conditions, all of which combine to sustain and drive this diversity. Fynbos is a fire-adapted vegetation and needs fire to sustain itself: without fire the vegetation would thicken and senesce, permit trees to enter and dominate the system, and eventually exclude the precious nutrients liberated by fire and which the system depends upon for rejuvenation. This book is a guide that will help people who visit, live, manage or own land in the Fynbos Biome to appreciate and manage its extraordinary natural richness.
Mountains in the Sea – Table Mountain to Cape Point John Yeld and Martine Barker SANParks 2004 First edition	"Mountains in the Sea - An Interpretive Guide to the Table Mountain National Park" is a new publication from SA National Parks. This comprehensive, interpretive guide will lead you through this magical world, and inspire you to explore the many extraordinary things on offer here. It's reader-friendly, easy-on-the eye, and can be tucked into a rucksack or a car's cubbyhole with ease. With over 300 full-colour photographs, this book is as beautiful as it is useful. Designed for visitors and local residents, this guide provides a wealth of information about the wonderful and occasionally weird plants and creatures that abound in the Park, and about their habitats and how they fit into the unique ecology of the area. It also details the numerous ways one can enjoy the Park and includes maps and descriptions of the 16 most popular walking routes on the mountain, and the two-day Cape of Good Hope Hiking trail. "Must see" venues such as the Table Mountain cableway, Boulders penguin colony and Cape Point are detailed, as well as where to surf, fish, dive, watch birds, eat out or just have fun in the outdoors. A fascinating history of the Cape Peninsula, and how the Park came into being, is also included, with a guide to where to find historical structures and artifacts.
The Rocks & Mountains of Cape Town John S Compton Homespun Books 2016 First edition, third impression	This richly illustrated book provides a clear and accessible guide to the scenic landscapes and geological history of the greater Cape Town area. It covers large-scale features observable from space as well as that which you can see while touring or hiking up Table Mountain. “I read a book once which described mountains as living museums of our planet’s history. But to understand what the exhibits represent we have to learn a new language. Prof Compton...is eloquent in that language, and has done us a great service by providing this slim but rich volume to interpret our environment to us in words we can all understand.” Cape Times “No doubt we are in good hands as John Compton gives us a basic introduction to the environment we find around us. But Rocks & Mountains is not only a guide for today – it is also a natural history of Table Mountain...This is not a handy guide for hikers, but a small text book to read before you venture forth.” Mail & Guardian