Runaway Knysna fires wreak havoc
FAMILY OF 3 DIE: HIGHWAY CLOSED, HOSPITAL EVACUATED
All available staff deployed to join fight against advancing flames.
The N2 highway between Knysna and Plettenberg Bay was closed yesterday after as a massive, out-of-control fire devoured all before it on both sides of the road.
Three people – reportedly a farm worker, his wife and their child – died as another fire, on the other side of Knysna, roared through a tree plantation in the Rheenendal area.
The Knysna Provincial Hospital was evacuated late yesterday afternoon, as were other residential areas in and around the town. Some areas were without electricity last night as the flames took down power lines.
Gerhard Otto, Eden District Municipality spokesperson and manager of disaster management community services, said the Knysna municipality had activated a local joint operations centre (JOC) at the Knysna Fire Station in order to coordinate responses to local incidents.
“The local fire chief, Clinton Manual, has requested any support that the Western Cape can send as the fire now threatens Belvidere, and it is spreading fast towards Brenton-on-Sea,” said Otto.
“Subsequently, three Working on Fire teams have been dispatched to Knysna with 60 additional staff from outside the Eden district. The SANDF will be contacted in an effort to get aerial support through an Oryx helicopter.”
Otto confirmed that all available staff had been deployed. Staff who were on days off have been called in on overtime.
James-Brent Styan, spokesperson for the Western Cape local government MEC Anton Bredell, said the Western Cape Disaster Management Centre was on alert and that contingency plans were in place. – Caxton News Service