Winds hamper efforts to battle Dunoon informal settlement fire

Cape Town firefighters have attended to a blaze at an informal settlement in Dunoon on Friday.

Several informal structures were alight at the Site 5 informal settlement.

The City of Cape Town Fire and Rescue Services spokesperson, Jermaine Carelse, said strong winds were hampering firefighting efforts.

"Currently, there are 12 fire engines and water tankers on site, operations are being coordinated by an Incident Management Team (IMT) Type four. The strong winds and fuel load are presenting a challenge to firefighting efforts. This is a fluid situation, and updates will follow as more information becomes available."

Meanwhile, in the Overberg, two major fires remain active in Pearly Beach and Stanford.

Firefighting efforts there were also being hampered by strong winds, and there was concern that the conditions could push fire lines into unburnt areas.

Teams from the City of Cape Town’s Disaster Risk Management Centre as well as aid organisation Gift of the Givers are currently on the scene of a raging fire in Du Noon to assist fire victims.

The extent of the damage is unknown at this stage as this is still an active scene.

One firefighter is in hospital being treated for heat exhaustion.

Gift of the Givers' Ali Sablay said full humanitarian assistance will be provided as soon as the area is declared safe.

"At this stage, very little can be done as the area remains extremely dangerous. Gift of the Givers teams are currently stretched across the Western Cape, with deployments in the Overstrand Municipality, in Elim, Mossel Bay, and Kouga in the Eastern Cape."