Statement by Minister of Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development

3 February 2017

 Statement by Minister of Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning, Anton Bredell.

 Fire Alert for the West Coast

 Extreme weather conditions along the West Coast of the Western Cape has raised the fire risk for the region. The Western Cape Disaster Management Center has issued a fire warning for the region and calls on the public to assist in preventing fires in the region.

Anton Bredell, the Minister of Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning in the Western Cape, says the region has not experienced a serious incident so far this fire season.

“Unfortunately, conditions are such that the risk of a serious fire in the region is very high. We would like to call on travelers, visitors and people living on the West Coast to take extra care over the next few weeks to prevent fires as much as possible.”

Colin Deiner, head of Disaster Management in the Western Cape says along with the Cape Town Peninsula and the Cape Winelands, the West Coast district has been identified as a big risk for wildfires.

“The area is very dry and very hot and strong wind is prevalent. The season has been tough to date and we hope that the West Coast can remain as incident free as possible.”

A serious fire raging in the Du Toits-kloof pass continues this afternoon despite the efforts of a huge team deployed to the area.

Firefighters have managed to start containing the fire but the situation remains serious and firefighting continues this afternoon.

Minister Bredell advises the public to report fires immediately and not to assume it has been reported.

When reporting fires, please contact your Local District Municipality

·         City of Cape Town - 107 or 021 480 7700 from a cellphone

·         Overberg - 028 425 1690

·         West Coast - 022 433 8700

·         Eden - 044 805 5071

·         Central Karoo - 023 414 2603

·         Cape Winelands - 021 887 4446

 ENDS.