Firefighters have been struggling to contain the fire along the mountain slopes in Simon’s Town and strong winds remain a challenge on Thursday.
The City of Cape Town’s Fire and Rescue Services spokesperson, Jermaine Carelse gave an update on the blaze that started on Tuesday.
He said there had been no property damage overnight and nor had any staff or member of the public sustained any injuries.
“Five aerial support craft have been activated as of first light, including the Black Hawk that can fly in very high winds, as we suspect will be the case today,” said Carelse.
“Again, we cannot stress enough the work that has been done on the frontlines by the various agencies involved in trying to get this fire out,” he said.
“A planning meeting will be held after the two Incident management teams have their briefing this morning, whereby the tactics for the day will be discussed and implemented,” said Carelse.
“We had hoped for favourable wind conditions; however, these elements are out of our control.”
Western Cape MEC of Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning, Anton Bredell has urged the public to follow instructions from firefighters.
“We have a strong and professional team on the ground, and we request that the public do not panic and work with us,” Bredell said.
“Our officials will request residents well in advance if they need to evacuate, and all firefighting decisions being made is with the safety of the public as the number one priority.”
He said the provincial Disaster Management Centre has availed is provincial aerial resources to the Simon’s Town fire.
Bredell said while the Simon’s Town fire is being addressed, several wildfires in the Cape Winelands District Municipality (CWDM) also need attending.
“Firefighters from CWDM Fire Services, CapeNature, Winelands Fire Protection Association, NCC Environmental Services and aerial resources from Leading Edge have been engaged in active firefighting on several fronts:
“A fire is burning through dense and inaccessible vegetation along the Berg River in the vicinity of the Berg River Dam outside Franschhoek. Efforts are focused on preventing the spread to farms and nearby infrastructure,” Bredell said.
“A fire in Du Toit’s Kloof outside Paarl is currently mostly contained, with ground crews attending to isolated hot spots, monitoring for flareups, and doing general mopping-up work.”
Provincial government has budgeted R16 million for the current wildfire season.
Bredell said the public plays a critical role in the prevention of wildfires.
“Fires due to natural causes, such as lightning strikes or rockfalls, account for less than 3% of all wildfires,” he said.
“The other 97% is caused either intentionally, 25%, or through negligence, 72%. These statistics show the huge role ordinary citizens can play to protect not only our natural environment, but also our personal safety and infrastructure, from runaway wildfires.”
Bredell urged members of the public to report any sighting of fire as quickly as possible to the authorities.
“Experience over many years has taught us that the faster the initial response, the better our chances are of successfully controlling a fire before it spirals out of control,” he said.
Here are contact numbers to report any sightings across the province:
– City of Cape Town: 107 or 021-480-7700 from a cell phone
– Overberg: 028-425-1690
– West Coast: 022-433-8700
– Garden Route: 044-805-5071
– Central Karoo: 023-414-2603
– Cape Winelands: 021-887-4446
robin.francke@inl.co.za
IOL