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Firefighters on high alert as winelands blaze 'burns out of control'

Firefighters are on high alert in the Cape Winelands District municipality to try to prevent a fire from reaching properties.
Firefighters are on high alert in the Cape Winelands District municipality to try to prevent a fire from reaching properties.
Image: NCC Environmental Services/Charl Steenkamp

Firefighters are busy fighting a fire that was started by lightning on Saturday afternoon in Agter-Vinkrivier in the Robertson Valley in the Western Cape.

Spokesperson for the Cape Winelands district municipality Jo-Anne Otto said the fire was a worry as it was burning out of control. But she said firefighters were on high alert to prevent it spreading to neighbouring properties.

“The fire teams have identified areas where lines are currently burning actively in the most inaccessible areas of the Langeberg Mountains. The fire line is very large and due to a combination of factors including inaccessibility, the effective deployment of resources and in the interest of the protection of lives, infrastructure and property, the fire teams will act pro-actively,” Otto said.

She said the progress of the fire is being monitored by teams on both the Montagu and the Robertson sides. She said the teams will focus their resources on preventing the fire from reaching properties. The municipality's fire services were being assisted by Volunteer Fires Services.

According to Otto, firefighters have also contained most of the fire at Pearl Valley in Paarl but they are concerned that the wind may pick up causing sparks to travel to the nearby thatched structures.

On Saturday, multiple firefighting teams in the Western Cape had their hands full putting out fires.

In the city of Cape Town, the vegetation fire on both sides of Ou Kaapse Weg, which was reported just before noon on Saturday, was brought under control.

The city said the swift response of the City of Cape Towns Fire & Rescue Service, in collaboration with Table Mountain National Parks and Wildland Fire Volunteers, managed to stop the fire from spreading further.

They had 12 firefighting appliances and about 80 staff members on the scene, including the two sets of seasonal firefighters. 

TimesLIVE


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