Simon's Town fire fears fade as flames die down

Fears that Simon's Town could be at threat from a wildfire receded on Thursday morning.

The City of Cape Town said firefighters and other emergency staff were still on duty in the southern Cape peninsula but were focusing on extinguishing "hot spots" and tackling flare-ups.

On Wednesday night‚ as two houses on the upper edge of the town caught fire‚ firefighters were braced for an all-night battle.

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Soldiers and police were deployed to prevent homes from being looted after hundreds of residents evacuated the town‚ in Cape Town’s southern peninsula‚ when it was enveloped in thick smoke.

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City of Cape Town mayoral committee member for safety and security JP Smith said the council’s fire and rescue resources were almost at “code red — all resources deployed and no more available”.

Thanks to the continuing Somerset West wildfire‚ “we have an extreme situation where two massive conflagrations are happening simultaneously. That happens very rarely‚ but it is currently the case”.

Richard Kenny‚ chairman of the Simon’s Town Civic Association‚ said the fire threat was aggravated by dense alien vegetation on private land around Glencairn.

“A big part of that (Glencairn) mountain is privately owned by an absentee landlord. He has allowed the whole mountain to be covered by alien vegetation. I am very concerned about what might happen if the fire takes hold of that mountain‚” Kenny said.

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A large fire in the area two years ago meant a reduced threat for homes at the southern end of Simon’s Town. But the mountainside around Glencairn had not burnt for some time and was therefore at greater risk‚ he said.

– TMG Digital/The Times