Fires indiscriminate as they wreak heartbreak and trauma across Cape society

Western Cape Premier Helen Zille‚ suburban families in upmarket Cape Town and Winelands farm workers share something in common today - the terror of the firestorm tearing through the province.

Zille woke to the sound of helicopters as they swooped to fight a raging blaze in Cape Town’s City Bowl suburbs as her neighbours fled their homes.

• Workers evacuated as wildfire guts historic wine farm in Paarl areaMore than 100 people were evacuated and an historic wine farm building was destroyed as a fierce wildfire raged in the Paarl area on Tuesday. 

At the same time 60km away in the Winelands town of Paarl dozens ran from a raging blaze too as a storm of fires tears through the province with such frequency and ferocity that some are asking if they have been started deliberately.

The devastation runs through the Cape Peninsula‚ along the West Coast and Cape Winelands District and has seen the South African Air Force being dispatched to assist in dousing the flames.

• Air force to deploy more helicopters to help fight fires in Western CapeThe South African Air force has agreed to deploy additional resources to combat the fires that have ravaged parts of the Western Cape in recent weeks. 

On Tuesday alone 19 fires were burning‚ said Anton Bredell‚ the environment and local government MEC. In Paarl‚ the fire also destroyed the The Calais Wine Estate‚ which dates back to 1692.

The flames have wrought heartbreak and trauma across Cape society but miraculously no deaths have been recorded.

• IN PICTURES: Cape Town firefighters battle blaze through the nightA wildfire raging on the lower slopes of Table Mountain on Tuesday morning saw some Cape Town residents voluntarily evacuate their homes while crews fought through the night to control a blaze that started above Deer Park. Documentary photographer Justin Sullivan was on the scene.  

Adrian and Jane Maritz - from the middle class suburb of Vredehoek - said they fled with their pets‚ their 22-month-old adopted son and most precious documents including his adoption papers.

In Paarl‚ Johannes Mentoor - who works on De Kleine Bos farm - escaped with nothing.

Adrian Maritz‚ a software designer‚ said this was the first blaze to threaten their house.

“You've got 15 minutes to walk around the house and take the stuff that is super important and you kind of just have to say 'if it's going to go‚ it's going to go’‚” said Jane. Their home was unscathed in the end.

They praised the fire-fighters who had fallen asleep from exhaustion on the pavements of Pinetree Crescent in Vredehoek at the foot of Table Mountain.

About 160 Cape Town fire-fighters with 15 fire engines‚ four water tankers‚ five bush tenders and six skid units and support staff were assisted by 70 Table Mountain National Park staff in the Vredehoek area. On Tuesday initial estimates of the damage came to R4.5-million.

“You realise when you're walking out of here at two o’clock in the morning and the blaze is right here‚ it's that fireman and your life‚ like your house‚ your belongings‚ everything you've spent the last thirty years building‚ there's a little fireman between you and your life‚” Jane said.

Grant Van Helsdingen and Laurence Aadnesgaard said they were alerted at 5am on Tuesday that their house was on fire. This after they had evacuated only a few hours earlier.

Fire-fighters had to break the front door and the security gate in order to save their house.

“Our friend was actually in Long Street busy drinking and we had to phone him to say: ‘Come back. The house is on fire. You have to evacuate’‚” said Van Helsdingen.

“We had been up all night watching the fire and our neighbours were freaking out‚ we kept going up to the mountain to see how far it was.''

Meanwhile‚ some 200 fire fighters were also trying to bring the fire in Paarl under control in the face of howling winds.

About 100 people - many farm workers - were forced to evacuate their homes.

A pregnant Moroaan Minaar explained how she and her grandmother sought refuge at the Dal Josaphat Primary School.

"We had to leave [home] past 7 [in the morning] because the smoke was too much. It affected my grandmother who couldn't breathe‚'' said Minaar who is due to give birth soon.

The City of Cape Town said between November 1 and January 12 they responded to 5‚465 fires. This is an average of 75 a day. It’s so dire that the South African Air Force and the Minister of Defence have stepped in to help.

Zille took to Twitter on Tuesday telling how she was woken by the fire-fighting helicopters and raising questions about the source of the fires.

"These are the major fires our fire-fighters are currently battling to contain. Can this be accidental or coincidental?#JustAsking''.

JP Smith‚ Mayoral Committee Member for Social Services and Safety and Security‚ said: "The spate of fires are truly suspicious and we have an investigations team that is looking into it."

He continued: "We cannot rule out that the fires are being started deliberately."

-TMG Digital/The Times