Cape Town Wildfire – Tuesday, 12h00 update

The wildfire that broke out on the slopes of Table Mountain on Sunday morning has been largely contained. Overnight the wind dropped significantly and helicopters have been waterbombing the fire lines since early this morning.

Anton Bredell, the minister of Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning in the Western Cape says the danger is not entirely over just yet.

“Our first priority remains fully extinguishing all of the fire lines. Then over the next few days firefighters will continue to dampen down the affected areas and monitor for flareups until we are one hundred percent sure the fire is out. Damage assessments will be done as well and once the fire has been extinguished the investigation into the cause of the fire will be conducted.”

Bredell says it has been a remarkable effort by all the partners involved.

“Tackling an operation of this scale and nature is not something any one entity can do alone. We want to acknowledge the City of Cape Town, the Table Mountain National Park, Working on Fire and Volunteer Wildfire Services as well as the South African National Defence Force.”

The latest damage reports show a total of eleven structures were damaged or destroyed over the past three days. These include:

• 2 Houses in the Rosebank area
• 6 Education buildings on the University of Cape Town campus
• 2 Heritage buildings including the Mostert’s Mill and UCT Jagger library
• 1 Restaurant at Rhodes Memorial.

Nine civilians were taken to hospital with breathing challenges after smoke inhalation and six firefighters sustained injuries in the line of duty.

The Premier of the Western Cape, Alan Winde, said: “I have such deep appreciation for the efforts of the City of Cape Town under Mayor Dan Plato, the  Table Mountain National Park, Working on Fire and Volunteer Wildfire Services as well as the SANDF who were all supported by the Western Cape Government.”

Premier Winde continued, “I especially want to thank the hard-working men and women who are serving on the frontline, risking their lives to put a stop to the fires. Their efforts have been nothing short of heroic. I also want to thank the many NGOS, private businesses and residents in the province who have generously made donations to support our firefighters’ efforts. It is incredibly heart-warming to see how we have come together as a province and as a City in this time of crisis to save our mountain and heritage sites.”

Emergency contact numbers:

• City of Cape Town Emergency Services Landline: 021 480 7700 Cellphone:107
• Provincial Emergency Number – 112
• Table Mountain National Park – 021 957 4700