In the mountains above Lourensford near Somerset West‚ City of Cape Town firefighters are trying to stop a fire from spreading to the Cape Winelands and Stellenbosch.
In Du Toit’s Kloof near Paarl‚ another fire‚ which broke out at midnight on Monday‚ had burnt through 250 hectares by 9am on Tuesday and destroyed structures including a lodge and two cottages.
City of Cape Town fire chief Ian Schnetler said the fire which has been burning in Somerset West for a week flared up again on Monday night.
On Thursday‚ the fire in the area was all but contained but a small portion continued burning in difficult terrain in the kloofs above Lourensford.
“Last night‚ with the extreme wind conditions‚ the fire spread above Lourensford farm where it is still currently being contained and we've got ground crews and two helicopters currently working in that area‚” said Schnetler.
“There is a possibility that it will go into the Cape Winelands district and into Stellenbosch but we're trying to prevent that as much as possible.”
He said a spotter plane was guiding the helicopters and they were hoping to get more aerial support into the area.
“The winds are still pretty extreme‚ so we are just hoping for the best and that mother nature gives us a break‚” said Schnetler.
The spokesman at the Paarl incident command post‚ Justin Lawrence‚ said the fire in Du Toit’s Kloof was not under control and fire crews were brought in from three different municipalities‚ Cape Nature‚ and Working on Fire.
He said there had been no loss of life and the fire was spreading towards the Perdeskoen area.
– TMG Digital/The Times
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