The heat is on: four blazes signal Cape fire season

03 January 2017 - 19:33 By Tanya Steenkamp
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The summer fire season officially arrived in Cape Town on Tuesday with the outbreak of at least four vegetation blazes.

Image: iStock

A strong south-easter fuelled two fires in Somerset West‚ one in District Six and one at Hansenkop in Grabouw.

The worst fire broke out near the four-star Bezweni Lodge in Sir Lowry’s Pass‚ where eight fire engines and helicopters were called in to battle the flames.

“Firefighting efforts are currently being hampered by a very strong south-easterly wind and mountainous terrain‚” said City of Cape Town fire and rescue department spokesman Theo Layne.

Seventy firefighters were being assisted by Working on Fire staff and employees of Overberg Municipality.

A fire at Boskloof Eco Estate was contained by late afternoon. Layne said no properties had been damaged in either blaze.

Firefighters from Jonkershoek were called out to Grabouw and station manager Wayne van den Heuvel said the fire was thought to have been flare-up from a blaze last week.

Layne said the fire in District Six‚ which blanketed the city bowl in smoke‚ was quickly contained.

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