Controlled fires not a cause for alarm, SANParks assures CT residents
SANParks has assured the public that controlled fires are no cause for alarm after a blaze on the slopes of Table Mountain sent alarm bells ringing in Cape Town on Wednesday.
SANParks conducted a controlled fire on the slopes of Table Mountain on 3 April 2024. Picture: SANParks Table Mountain National Park/Facebook
CAPE TOWN - SANParks has assured the public that controlled fires are no cause for alarm after a blaze on the slopes of Table Mountain sent alarm bells ringing in Cape Town on Wednesday.
SANParks spokesperson, Lauren Clayton, said the fire on the mountain slopes below Tafelberg Road on Wednesday was in fact officially scheduled and prescribed.
"Although we appreciated that such burning is a source of concern to many Cape Town residents, it must be stated that uncontrolled wildfires that may occur could pose a huge risk to life and property on the urban edge if the removal of dry flammable material by means of prescribed burns is not carried out to reduce the likelihood of future uncontrolled wildfires."
Clayton said other reasons for controlled fires included clearing alien vegetation and to rejuvenate fire-adapted and fire-dependant fynbos vegetation.