Cape Town firefighters bring parts of mountain blaze under control, now focusing on hotspots
The City's hoping that the fires burning since Friday night will all be under control by Thursday morning, says Fire Service spokesperson Jermaine Carelse.
Ou Kaapse Weg fire devastation / Image: Supplied
CapeTalk's Africa Melane (in for John Maytham) gets an update from Jermaine Carelse, spokesperson for the City of Cape Town' Fire & Rescue Service.
Cooler conditions and light rain have helped Cape Town firefighters contain parts of the mountain blaze raging since Friday night.
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They are now focusing their efforts on the Klein and Groot Constantia area, where there are still many hotspots and flare-ups, says Jermaine Carelse, spokesperson for the City's Fire and Rescue Service.
"The Clovelly area as well as Boyes Drive and the Noordhoek area seem to be under control...We've pulled most of our resources into the Klein and Groot Constantia area to try to extinguish the fires there as soon as possible."
Jermaine Carelse, Spokesperson - CoCT Fire and Rescue Service
"It's like a tale of two cities here in Cape Town - when we came over Chapman's Peak this morning there was drizzle for about an hour and a half, but on the Tokai side the ground is bone dry."
Jermaine Carelse, Spokesperson - CoCT Fire and Rescue Service
Close to 150 men and women have been battling the fires raging across the southern section of Table Mountain National Park (TMNP) since the blaze first started in Silvermine on Friday night.
A team effort has involved crews from the City's Fire and Rescue Service, TMNP, NCC Wildfires and Volunteer Wildfire Services.
It's estimated that 3,000 hectares of vegetation have been burnt.
There's been no damage to property reported, aside from a number of cars that were torched.
One firefighter who was injured is recovering at home after being treated in hospital.
Carelse says the residents from the Noordhoek Manor retirement village who were evacuated as a precautionary measure, have all returned to their homes.
While the cooler weather has been of help in containing the blaze, poor visibility did mean that firefighting helicopters had to be grounded for a while on Wednesday morning due to poor visibility.
Carelse thanked Capetonians who responded to appeals for donations of supplies like meals, energy drinks and eye drops.
"We've put a pause on all those donations... We were actually humbled as firefighters with the generosity of the people."
Jermaine Carelse, Spokesperson - CoCT Fire and Rescue Service
Carelse says he's hopeful that all the fires still burning will be contained by Thursday morning.
Listen to the update in the interview audio at the top of the article