Wildfire warning after Table Mountain catches alight, people evacuated

03 November 2020 - 07:00 By belinda pheto
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The Western Cape's Anton Bredell has warned about the increased risk in wildfires over the next few months.
The Western Cape's Anton Bredell has warned about the increased risk in wildfires over the next few months.
Image: John Wilson/ twitter

The Western Cape government has called on the public to take great care over the next few months as risk of fire peaks.

Local government, environmental affairs and development planning minister Anton Bredell sounded the warning on Monday after a serious wildfire on the slopes of Table Mountain at the weekend.

Residents had to be evacuated from their smoke-logged homes along Bridle, Molteno, and Glencoe roads in Oranjezicht on Saturday night. The fire was fanned by strong winds, but firefighters brought it under control in the early hours of Sunday morning.

One firefighter was injured and taken to hospital.

“Summers in the Western Cape can be hot and very windy, and this has in the past contributed to the severity of wildfires. The provincial authorities along with all our partners are on standby already to tackle wildfires that may occur,” Bredell said.

He emphasised the critical role that the public can play, and called on visitors and residents of the Western Cape to act quickly and responsibly to prevent fires and when seeing fires. Bredell urged the public to report fires immediately and not assume they had already been reported.

“Early fire warnings remain critical to controlling fires. When a fire does break out, getting control over it as quickly as possible is vital. If we can get to a fire within the first hour the possibility of a major incident is minimised.

“We ask everyone to take extra special care and make fires in designated places only; do not throw cigarette butts out the window; and make sure braai fires are properly extinguished before leaving them,” he said.

Meanwhile, Bredell also provided an update on the provincial dam levels.

He said the average dam level in the Western Cape was 79.8%. The dams providing water to Cape Town were at 98.4%, compared to 85.2% a year ago.

TimesLIVE


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