Officials say the wildfire at the Jonkershoek Valley, in the Winelands District, continues to spread along the mountain peaks in the Blaauwklippen area. The fire is being fanned by strong winds.
Hot weather and dense vegetation are also allowing the fire to move fast.
Two firefighters were injured overnight and nearby communities have been warned to remain alert in case authorities call for an evacuation.
A spokesperson for the Western Cape Department of Local Government, James Brent Styan says the fire has been raging for five days now.
“The conditions are very bad, very strong winds and temperatures which are hampering the efforts and poor visibility. There’s lots of smoke and ash in the area. If the visibility is so poor and wind so strong, we can’t rely as much as we’d like on the aerial support, as would like to.”
1/ 8 ๐ฅ Jonkershoek Fire UPDATE No 2๐ฅ
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ถ๐น๐ฑ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ด๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐ป๐ธ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ต๐ผ๐ฒ๐ธ ๐ฉ๐ฎ๐น๐น๐ฒ๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐๐๐ถ๐น๐น ๐ผ๐๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐น ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ถ๐ ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ผ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ป๐๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐๐ฟ๐ป๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฑ. pic.twitter.com/SuOqpqwRAIโ Western Cape Gov (@WesternCapeGov) February 26, 2021
Earlier Cape Winelands District Municipality spokesperson, Jo-Anne Otto, said despite a crew of 236 firefighters, assisted by 24 firefighting vehicles, the fire has continued to spread through Jonkershoek and along the mountain peaks into the Blaauwklippen area.
Otto said aerial resources will be deployed to waterbomb the hotspots, once conditions allow for it.