A new blaze takes over Stellenbosch

Just days after runaway fires swept across the Cape peninsula, another blaze was underway yesterday in Stellenbosch.

The fire started at the base of a mountain in Jonkershoek before spreading up its slopes.

Fanned by strong winds and fuelled by dried wood and vegetation, the fire had not been brought under control by last night.

The Cape Winelands Fire Department Station Commander Jaco Thuynsma, said that no homes or buildings were being threatened, but that it was too early to determine the extent of the fire.

“It’s difficult to make an exact assumption now, it is still very early stages. We will only make a call overnight.”

Thuynsma said large plumes of smoke meant that the three helicopters being used to extinguish the blaze had to be grounded.

“We are moving up the mountain with ground crews trying to contain it,” he said.