Firefighters‚ assisted by helicopters‚ battled a fierce wildfire fanned by strong winds that burnt overnight in Paarl in the Western Cape.

The blaze started late on Thursday‚ December 20 2018.

Stellenbosch Municipality said in a tweet on Thursday night that firefighters from Drakenstein Municipality‚ Cape Winelands District Municipality‚ Stellenbosch Municipality and private organisations were fighting the blaze at Paarl Rock.

“Three helicopters‚ 15 firefighting vehicles and 40 firefighters are on the scene. No injuries reported so far‚” said the municipality.

The Winelands Fire Protection Association said the fire started at about 5.30pm on Paarl mountain.

“Due to strong south easterly winds the fire spread rapidly [in a] northerly direction towards Rheebokskloof. Aerial support was activated earlier to try and stop the head of the fire but to no avail‚” the association said in an update posted on Facebook.

“Ground teams were deployed on the active fire lines to do mopping up at the base of the fire while firefighting vehicles from Drakenstein municipality and Cape Winelands are trying to contain it.”