Outrage and fear after fire in Cape ammo dump

How does a wildfire start and spread inside a "red zone" naval base packed with highly explosive munitions?

That's a question confronting the SA Navy, which had to evacuate firefighters from its armaments depot above Simon's Town after a wildfire started there recently.

Although the cause of the fire is still under investigation, firefighting teams from Table Mountain National Park were told to vacate the area due to fears about exploding munition stockpiles.

"During the early morning we could hear sounds coming from the base and it did sound as if munitions were exploding, but I cannot confirm if they were or not," said one source who fought the fire.

"Crews at one stage were told to withdraw from the base," he said.

Residents affected by the fire, which fanned out from the base and at one stage threatened Scarborough, now fear they are sitting on a time bomb in the pristine Red Hill valley between Simon's Town and Cape Point Nature Reserve.

The fire destroyed thousands of hectares as it cut a trail of destruction across the Cape's southern peninsula.

Table Mountain National Park fire chief Philip Prins confirmed the fire had started inside the naval ammunition depot base.

"When our guys got there the fire was still burning within the secure area.

"They told our guys to get out because there was stuff going up," Prince said.

A source in the City of Cape Town claimed the initial spark came from "a party with a braai taking place in a wind of 120km/h in a dry fire zone area".

"This is the info we have had. Also there was some loose ammunition lying around which went off in the fire.

"Fire and disaster management volunteers were deployed to try to prevent the entire base going up," the source said.

Residents said the Simon's Town base had been a bone of contention for several years due to lax security and crumbling infrastructure.

"The fire should not have been allowed to spread," a resident said yesterday.