Taken by flames
150 people evacuated from Paarl as blaze destroys homes
ABOUT 150 people have had to be evacuated from their homes following a fire that started on Monday night in the Drankenstein area. Farmworker Karen Johannesen said their house burnt down in the flames. “We were sleeping when it broke out and we ran out and tried to get things out. We didn’t manage to get anything. We’re still wearing the same clothes as last night,” said Johannesen.
She said the fire started in the mountains and the strong winds fanned the flames. “We just smelled smoke and we woke up and tried to save what we could.”
With her children due to start school today, she said, she doesn’t know what she will do about uniforms and stationery. Druk My Niet Wine Estate winemaker Alex Mcfarlane said all their guests escaped the fire unharmed and were taken to alternative accommodation around Paarl.
“We lost most of our guest houses, the owner’s home and a wine cellar,” said Mcfarlane.
She said the cause of the fire was not known and the farm had yet to assess the damage. Drankenstein fire service spokesman Derrick Peceur said yesterday their teams were still busy battling the blaze near Wellington where it was not yet contained. He said 13 structures were affected by the fire and 150 people were evacuated to Dal Josafat Primary School to get away from the smoke and the heat.
Peceur said the evacuation was a safety precaution due to temperatures reaching the high 30s which, coupled with the heat from the fire, posed a health risk. Teams would remain on site throughout
the night, he said. Peceur said they had not yet established the cause of the fire and the damage assessment was still under way.
Paarl Incident Command Post spokesman Justin Lawrence said yesterday morning that firefighters were still battling the fire which started before midnight on Monday on the Du Toitskloof Mountain.
Due to strong south-easterly winds the fire moved in the direction of the Newtown and Perdeskoen areas.
He said firefighting crews from the Cape Winelands District Municipality, Drankenstein Municipality, CapeNature, Working on Fire and the West Coast District Municipality were working together to put out the blaze.
Lawrence said about 250ha of vegetation had been burnt, while structures had also been lost in the fire by yesterday morning, but no deaths or injuries had been reported.
ADT Security’s district manager Verena Hulme said: “The brave men and women of Drakenstein Farm Watch are heroes. They put their own lives at risk to immediately work with other firefighters to get residents out of harm’s way. We have tasked our armed response officers in the area to assist wherever they can, and to keep an eye on homes that might be unoccupied right now to prevent any looting.”
The Helderberg fire that broke out last week was still burning after the strong winds sparked flare-ups of hot spots.
Yesterday morning the city’s fire and rescue spokeswoman, Liezel Moodie, said: “Somerset West Fire and 107 City firefighters were assisted by 50 Working on Fire and 12 Nature Conservation staff as well as three helicopters. Currently ground crews are monitoring areas as well as attending to hot spots and flare-ups.”