Firefighting efforts are continuing near the Raubenheimer Dam at Oudtshoorn in the Little Karoo where a wildfire has flared up again due to winds. Several firefighting teams including the district municipality, Working on Fire and Cape Nature are at the scene.
Fire Services Spokesperson, Johan Brandt, says aerial support is also being used but there’s been no structural damage thus far.
“We have a right flank that is running to some young veld and we hope that this veld will slow the fire down. And then we have got a left flank as well, but we are currently struggling to keep it out of a little kloof, which leads to some old veld, which can be problematic. The guys are fighting really hard to contain it and if the wind plays a good role in this, we might keep it out of the old veld,” says Brandt.
Table Mountain blaze
Meanwhile, a devastating wildfire which erupted in South Africa’s Cape Town last week Sunday has devastated around 650 hectares of land in the Table Mountain National Park, with the ferocious blaze also destroying several historical buildings which could have a major impact on the already struggling tourism industry.
Investigators are still trying to figure out what sparked the wildfire which saw several university buildings and a popular, long-standing restaurant burned down. The well-known restaurant and tea garden was located at the 109-year-old Rhodes Memorial monument, on the slopes at the Devils’ Peak, and is a major loss to the local community.
“We are quite saddened by the fact that this restaurant was not spared by this fire. This is one of the heritage buildings that we have within the Table Mountain National Park. But we are equally happy that no lives were lost,” said Rey Thakuli, acting head of communications of the South African National Parks (SANParks).
The mountain fire has dealt another major blow to embattled SANParks, which manages South Africa’s 20 national parks and other attractions, as it has been struggling financially from the low numbers of tourists due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
More on the Cape fire in the video below:
“This was a very, very bad fire. It was a dangerous fire. We’re really not where we want to be, because we still need to follow the protocols, making sure that our camps are not chock-a-block fully. So, we’re operating in terms of limited numbers at this particular moment. That in itself, it tells you that the revenue that we’re supposed to be generating is not good at this particular moment,” said Thakuli.
SANParks says it has appointed an independent forensic investigator to help identify the cause of the fire. Meanwhile, firefighters are still on the ground monitoring the situation in case of further flare-ups.
“It is still very, very dry. We haven’t had rain now for a couple of weeks within Cape Town. So, the veld is extremely dry. There’s still going to be smoke for a number of days, because of the fuel load of pine trees and eucalyptus trees. At this stage, if you walk the area, you will see that it burnt right into the ground for more or less a meter, it has burnt into the ground,” said Philip Prins, fire manager at the Table Mountain National Park.
As SANParks continues to assess the extent of the fire damage, officials say they expect the forensic fire report to be completed within the next two weeks. – additional reporting by Reuters
