No shortage of olives after wildfire hits grove: CEO

19 January 2017 - 09:44 By PETRU SAAL and APHIWE DEKLERK
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The Paarl wildfire that hit an olive grove in Du Toit's Kloof will not lead to a shortage of olives.

"You will still have your Buffet Olives, there's no two ways about that. We have a large portion of the farm unaffected by the fire," Richard Allen, CEO of Cape Olive Holdings, said yesterday.

And the trees that had been brushed by the fire would recover, he said.

Flames reached Paarl's oldest wine estate, Calais, early on Tuesday, destroying the main house.

"People living in the house had to evacuate as soon as possible as the roof almost instantaneously burned down," said a director of the estate, who did not want to be named.

"We lost a lot in the fire, paintings worth thousands of rands and a lot of the things cannot be replaced because of their sentimental value."

Drakenstein Municipality fire chief Derick Damons said more than 200 firefighters were still working long shifts to combat the flames.

Western Cape authorities are bracing for an increase in runaway fires because of the hot and windy conditions.

James Styan, spokesman for local government, environmental affairs and development planning MEC Anton Bredell, said very hot and windy conditions were exacerbating the situation.

"If a fire starts under these conditions, it will be very hard to control, it will be unpredictable and it will be fast moving," he said.

He urged residents to take necessary precautions.

His statement came a day after several fires blazed across the province.

It forced dozens of residents to evacuate their homes in Paarl and Vredehoek in Cape Town.

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