Cape Town: Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis praised the efforts put by the city Firefighting teams who are still fighting with the Table Mountain and Red Hill fires.
While acknowledging the fighters he posted an image from the incident place and captioned, “Firefighting teams are still fighting the Table Mountain and Red Hill fires.” He added, “With low winds, hopefully these fires can be beaten today.”
“Grateful for the work being done by SANParks, the City firefighters and VWS overnight,” said Mayor Lewis.
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As per the latest updates, the fire at the Newlands Ravine spreaded to the front face of the mountain in Table Mountain National Park and reached in the areas that were inaccessible to firefighters.
Reportedly, the fire broke out on Sunday morning and the firefighters were immediately deployed to fight the fire, followed by aerial resources at first light. The fire then flared up on Tuesday night due to strong winds.
By the next morning, the Newlands Ravine, front face of Table Mountain and surrounds got suppressed. Whereas, the Redhill fire began later on Sunday and tentatively continued till afternoon. Later there, a flare up and three new fires occurred suddenly. The fires continued and the fire suppression activities are still going on.
As per the sources, the Platteklip Gorge and Kloof corner trails are now opened to the public. Maclear’s Beacon and Devils Peak to Newlands will remain closed. While the tafelberg Road is closed from Platteklip parking towards Devils Peak, as all trails in Newlands Forest are closed including Rhodes Memorial and Block House.
South African National Parks (SANParks) extends its gratitude and thanked all organisations that were assisted with the fires. These included NCC Wildfires, Volunteer Wildfire Services, Working on Fire, Enviro Wildfire Services and a special thanks to the Fire and Rescue Services team of the City of Cape Town as well as the Provincial Disaster Management for their assistance.
SANParks also thanked the corporates and members of the public who donated food and beverage supplies so generously to the firefighters.
Notably, many volunteers undertake this high-risk work in their spare time. The wildland fire fighters of TMNP and NCC work for 24-hrs shifts in the mountains and appreciate a warm meal and extra energy the donations provide, especially in the cold dark hours of the night.
As per the latest photographs shared by the City of Cape Town from the fire spot, the fire on SANParks – Table Mountain National Park is largely contained. A change in weather conditions may influence the situation.
Furthermore, the fire crews are attending to active flare-ups. Four helicopters that are still water bombing the fire-line overhead while the ground crews are mopping up. No property damage or injuries have been reported yet.