South Africa: Fire and Rescue Services Spokesperson – Jermaine Carelse has updated on the fire that started in the early hours of Sunday morning. The fire is still active, with the fire line clearly visible on the Table Mountain.
Spokesperson Carelse said that the fire is still high up in the Organgekloof and Fernwood area, which is far away from the properties.
As of now, the fire has reached on the lower slopes of Kirstenbosch and is still inaccessible. The Fire and Rescue Service of the city is doing periodic reconnaissance throughout the area.
Carelse updated that the crews from TMNP, WOF, NCC and VWS are still working on the fire lines tirelessly as they were backed by the aerial support on April 29, 2024.
Moreover, the Platteklip Gorge trail will remain closed with an immediate effect as the fire is actively burning in the vicinity near the Maclear’s Beacon.
According to the reports by the Table Mountain National Park Management, the visibility due the smoke of the fire has almost diminished and has become poor in the area. The blaze poses a major risk to trail users by walking unexpectedly into the fire.
With Platteklip Gorge, all the hiking trails between Newlands and Constantia Nek has also been closed. The trails will lead to Maclear’s Beacon and to the Back table.
Tails leading from the area between Camps Bay, Hout Bay and Orangekloof will also be included in the closures.
As per the SANParks, the safety of the residents, hikers and firefighting personnel is their priority. Therefore, they all encourage the users to refrain from accessing the areas.
Considering this, the SANParks is appealing to the public to please respect the trail closures in order to not endanger anyone or hamper firefighting efforts.
The Firefighting efforts are still underway at Skeleton Gorge, with the crews including SANParks Table Mountain National Park (TMNP), NCC Wildfires, Volunteer Wildfire Services. They are working on Fire and the City of Cape Town Fire and Rescue Services are trying to contain it.
As per the latest reports, from the previous night, it has been indicated that the fire ‘jumped into Nursery Ravine’ and was spreading towards Cecilia.
SANParks also explained that there is a misconception that the indigenous forests such as Newlands, above Kirstenbosch and in the parts of Cecilia, are all fire-resistant.
They have also stated that they are at a significant risk of fire unless they are tucked into deep kloofs and ravines over which fire often jumps to the next place.
South African National Parks (SANParks) has cleared that without fire and due to good fire risk management over many decades, the indigenous forests have been able to spread out to cover the lower slopes above Newlands and Kirstenbosch.
In Cecilia, the management has decided to create the beautiful green spaces that all love and revere.
Furthermore, there is a need of donations from individuals in the Constantia-Tokai Valley or Lakeside and Muizenberg areas to support firefighting efforts.
At present, there is an urgent need of energy drinks, energy bars, sealed snacks, fruits, large ziplock bags, eyedrops, burn salve and 500ml bottled water.
Notably, members of the public can drop off their donations at Hair Gallery, on the corner of Dam and Tokai Road, Tokai, as well as at the Newlands Fire Base.
