Cape Town: Fire and Rescue Services spokesperson – Jermaine Carelse has confirmed the fire in the vicinity of Constantia Nek after receiving a call around 1:30 a.m. in the morning on Sunday, April 28, 2024.
As per the report from the received call, the fire started near Window Buttress and is rapidly moving towards Kirstenbosch Gardens, which is fanned by a strong south-easterly wind.
Reportedly, the city crew was dispatched and supported by SAN Parks – Table Mountain National Park, by fire protection services NCC Wildfires and by the non-profit organisation Volunteer Wildfire Services.
The Fire and Rescue Services Department said that they earlier had an aerial support, however the strong winds necessitated the resources which were to be grounded around 8:30 a.m.
Furthermore, the IMT will be relocating to Kirstenbosch within the duration of the incident.
As the fire is slowly crawling down towards Kirstenbosch, all the agencies are congregated in the area to try and mitigate the potential impact.
The Fire and Rescue Department has started wetting all the thatched roofs inside the Gardens to safeguard these from windblown embers.
Notably, the ‘Eye in the Sky’ is providing real time visuals of the fire scenario, and is providing an overall view to the Incident Management Team.
With the visible result of the persistent windy conditions, the aerial firefighting craft are unable to take off at this time.
As per the latest report, some gains have been made with the courtesy of fire crews and more to calm the wind conditions in the afternoon.
Now, the staff has been released from Kirstenbosch Gardens and the crews from TMNP, NCC and the Volunteer Wildfire Services have been posted higher up along the mountains.
Considerably, there are still some hotspots that are along the lower slopes but these spots are inaccessible for now.
Moreover, the Skeleton Crews from the Fire and Rescue Service of the city Cape Town will remain on site overnight to monitor the situation and respond as required.
