‘Wolwekloof fire is still active’

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The Cape Winelands District Municipality says a fire in Wolwekloof near Ceres is still active.

Spokesperson, Joanne Otto says the fire that started over the weekend is being fuelled by invasive alien vegetation and strong winds.

She says the fire spread towards properties.

Otto says, “ While significant containment efforts were achieved by late Sunday afternoon, yesterday saw several flare-ups, forcing the fire line downward towards chalets and other structures. Battling fierce overnight winds, teams were compelled to temporarily retreat from the front line to prioritise protection of properties. “

“Overnight, the fire encroached upon the Mosterdshoek area, positioned above the Big Sky Chalets. There is growing concern that the fire currently burning in the mountains above Porterville on the West Coast municipal side, may spread into the Winterhoek Reserve above Saron and Gouda. Teams are closely tracking the progression of this fire,” she adds.

Kirstenbosch Gardens

The Table Mountain National Park says firefighters are still battling to contain a fire behind Kirstenbosch Gardens.

Fire Integrated Manager, Justin Buchmann says the wind shift overnight caused the fire to spread.

He says most of the fire lines are in steep and inaccessible areas.

Buchmann says, “We have the fire burn up into the slopes of Orangekloof and also once again in very steep and inaccessible areas. We are looking at deployment  in terms of ground crew, but we’re limited due to the low cloud cover and the wind in terms of aerial support.”

VIDEO: Helicopters waterbombing the fire on the Table Mountain: