Fires in Western Cape mountains still raging

FIREFIGHTERS in two Western Cape municipalities are struggling with fires fuelled by strong winds and dry conditions.

In the mountains above Lourensford, near Somerset West‚ City of Cape Town firefighters are trying to stop a fire from spreading to the Cape Winelands and Stellenbosch.

In Du Toit’s Kloof, near Paarl‚ a fire‚ which broke out at midnight on Monday‚ had burnt through 250ha by 9am yesterday and destroyed structures, including a lodge and two cottages.

City of Cape Town fire chief Ian Schnetler said the fire which had been burning in Somerset West for a week flared up once again on Monday night.

That fire was all but contained by Thursday night, but a small portion continued burning in difficult terrain in the ravines above Lourensford.

“Last night [Monday]‚ with the extreme wind conditions‚ the fire quickly spread above Lourensford farm where it was still being contained.

“We have ground crews and two helicopters fighting the fire in that area at the moment‚” Schnetler said.

“There is a possibility that it will go into the Cape Winelands district and into Stellenbosch, but we’re trying to prevent that as much as possible.”

A spotter plane was guiding the helicopters and the firefighters were hoping to get more aerial support.

“The winds are still pretty extreme‚ so we are just hoping for the best and that mother nature gives us a huge break‚” Schnetler said.

Justin Lawrence‚ a spokesman at the Paarl incident command post‚ said the fire at Du Toit’s Kloof was not under control and that fire crews were brought in from three different municipalities, as well as Cape Nature and Working on Fire.

He said there had been no loss of life and that the inferno was spreading towards the Perdeskoen area.