Wind, wall of flames combine in deadly threat to Thornhill

THORNHILL residents spent the weekend battling a blaze that tore through several farms and almost left the small farming town gutted.

Businessman and farmer Jonathan Fowke described the weekend as a sleepless battle that, if the wind direction had not changed, could have flattened the entire town.

“We have been fighting this fire since Wednesday but with the wind picking up on Saturday, it was heading straight for the township,” Fowke said.

“Everyone has just pulled together and worked non-stop to save farms and houses. It was truly amazing.”

The fire started in the Longmore Forest – between Hankey and Rocklands – and was fuelled by strong winds, destroying everything in its path.

On Saturday, the fire headed straight for the Thornhill town, destroying several farms.

“This fire just flew and, with Saturday’s wind, was literally unstoppable,” Fowke said.

One farmer racing to assist was overtaken by a wall of fire that swept through entire farms in seconds. “He was driving at 100km/h when the fire overtook him in the gusting winds. It was devastating to see entire farms burnt to the ground within minutes,” Fowke said.

In the wake of the Woodridge College fire, which they also assisted with, police water cannons and a milk tanker containing water arrived to assist when hydrants ran dry.

“It is amazing to see everyone pull together to help each other,” Fowke said.

“From workers to businessmen to residents and farmers, everyone worked with the same goal of stopping the fire and saving property.”

He estimated the damage to surrounding farms, the Longmore Sawmill that burnt to the ground and the Woodridge College to be about R500-million.

African Dawn manager Ali Horn said staff had been fighting the fire the entire Saturday when the wind pushed it to their facility.

“We were fighting the fire on other farms and helping where we could,” she said.

“The next thing, the wind picked up and within seconds the flames came over the ridge. It was a wall of flames coming straight towards us.

“It was spreading so quickly that we did not have time to think, we just needed to escape.”

Horn said they had an evacuation plan which they failed to implement, due to the rate at which the fire was spreading.

“It was scary and very chaotic. The smoke was so thick that I could not see anything and struggled to breathe,” she said.

“We just picked up the volunteers and left. There was no time to even evacuate the animals, it just happened so quickly.”

Within an hour, the fire had passed and staff returned to the facility.

“It was truly amazing. Not one animal died. There is some damage but it is wind-related, not due to the fire,” Horn said.

“The fire somehow burnt around the entire facility and just carried on burning.”

Thornhill New Apostolic Church priest Charles Harris said they managed to save the church after a passer-by saw the fire approaching.

“We got news of the fire heading for the church when a group of us went to try stop it,” Harris said.

“We grabbed tree branches and started beating the fire, which stopped it spreading. The smoke was thick but we managed to get it done.

“It was amazing, people from everywhere came to help, even those who are not members of the church.”

Harris said several church volunteers assisted farmer workers and residents who had been evacuated.

Thornhill community centre manager Gladys Philander – who is housing all those who had to be evacuated – said that only 59 residents, mainly farm workers from surrounding towns, were being housed there.

“Everyone is very appreciative and their families are all here. They basically come here to eat and sleep before going back to help fight the fires,” she said.

Asked about food and water, Philander said that the support had been amazing.

“It takes a lot, but there is enough food and blankets for everyone. It is truly amazing that everyone has come together to help,” she said.