Knysna fires continue to rage
DEATH TOLL REACHES FIVE: WATER BOMBING FLAMES FROM HELICOPTERS CONSIDERED
SANDF deployed, 20 emergency centres opened for people who lost their homes.
The devastating fires in the Knysna area were still out of control late yesterday afternoon and water bombing the flames from helicopters in inaccessible areas was being considered.
Knysna fire chief Clinton Manuel said: “We do not want the fire to run away with us again and we need to prevent this.”
He said firefighters from as far afield as Cape Town were fighting the fire.
“We are looking at areas where the wind could change or intensify. We are using all our crews and trying to overcome with all the resources we have,” said Manuel.
Shortly after Manuel’s announcement, the sounds of choppers flying over the town could be heard.
Manuel said headway was being made in restoring electricity and water services.
In Rheenendal, just outside Knysna, livestock and other animals were being moved to safety by Samaritans.
Community member Fanie Bekker said that without the help of a handful of heroes, the damage would have been so much worse.
“It’s thanks to these volunteers working throughout the night that my house and others could be saved,” he said.
Tony Johnston, his wife Madre and their son died in Rheenendal on Wednesday when they could not escape the flames.
A family member, who asked to remain anonymous, said she believed the family, who lived on a smallholding, were trapped inside their house which was then engulfed by flames.
“Tony is the last person we thought something like this would happen to,” she said.
“He was able to handle any situation.”
She said Tony and Madré had been volunteers on a mountain rescue team. She said the couple were always the first to volunteer if residents needed assistance during a fire.
“He [Tony] was the go-to guy for survival. He was well loved.”
On Wednesday, an elderly man, who lived in Brenton, had a heart attack and died. A four-year-old girl was found dead by her father yesterday morning in Welbedaght. There are no further details about this death.
Sergeant Chris Spies said patients from the Knysna provincial hospital were evacuated on Wednesday night, and were being looked after at Loerie Park in the squash courts, ablution facilities and the clubhouse.
On Wednesday night, people from all over Knysna, who were evacuated from their homes, gathered at the Knysna Yacht Club, which opened its doors to those in need.
Families and pets gathered in what was described as a surreal atmosphere, with people watching the fire burning on either side of the estuary. The floor became a bed to those who stayed the entire night.
Spies said 20 emergency centres in and around Knysna had been finalised yesterday afternoon. These places are for all those who have lost their homes and are in need. Earlier, Spies had advised homeless people to go to community halls in Chris Hani, Khayalethu, Loerie Park and an area that has been set up just behind Mitchell’s Brewery in Waterfront Drive.
South African National Defence Force’s Siphiwe Dlamini told The Citizen that the defence force had “to be deployed” to assist in emergency responses.
They had received the request to assist early yesterday morning. The request included water-bombing and ground troops to assist the police to prevent criminal elements taking advantage of the evacuated areas.
Plettenberg Bay residents started to evacuate yesterday and five “Go George” buses were sent to transport them. – Caxton News Service