Two more die as Knysna blazes flare up:
Hundreds more evacuated as firefighters battle to control flames amid strong winds
THE fires in Knysna claimed the lives of two more people at the weekend – a 63-year-old man died after being trapped by the blaze and the mother of young fire victim Catherin Matope, 4, succumbed to her injuries.
Western Cape local government spokesman James-Brent Styan said the fatalities for the Eden district now stood at seven.
Southern Cape police spokesman Captain Malcolm Pojie said in the latest incident driver John Blaauw from Hornlee in Knysna had been transporting workers near Windheuwel in Concordia when they were trapped by the fire at about 3pm on Saturday.
“While attempting to flee, he was engulfed by the flames and subsequently died due to the extensive wounds he sustained,” Pojie said.
He confirmed that the mother of Catherin, who had died after suffering severe burns on Wednesday, died in the Tygerberg Hospital in Cape Town on Friday as a result of burns.
She had been reported missing after her daughter’s body was found next to a dam in Narnia Village in Welbedacht, Knysna.
“She was later found in a critical condition at the Knysna Private Hospital,” Pojie said. “She was transferred to Tygerberg on Friday where she subsequently died.”
Strong winds wreaked havoc along the already devastated Garden Route at the weekend, causing massive flare-ups which led to another round of evacuations, road closures and destruction.
By yesterday the fires, which were largely centred along Knysna and Plettenberg Bay, had destroyed about 700 homes and other structures and burnt through between 10 000 and 15 000 hectares of land, with about 5 000 people evacuated.
Most of the fires in the region – which flared out of control on Wednesday – had just been contained by Friday when winds gusting at more than 90km/h swept through the area on Saturday morning.
The windy conditions persisted for most the day.
In Knysna – which had already seen more than 3 000 people evacuated and more than 400 homes and 200 informal structures destroyed by Friday – the N2 between Buffels Bay and Sedgefield had to be closed early on Saturday as a fire swept through the area.
Residents in the Buffalo Bay, Buffelskop and Brenton area were also evacuated as a precaution.
On Friday night, about 150 Fairview residents were evacuated.
Knysna municipal spokesman Fran Kirsten said Flenters, Rhobololo, Greenfields and Joodsekamp were also evacuated as runaway fires threatened the Knysna townships.
Eden disaster management head Gerhard Otto said by 1.30pm on Saturday all the fire lines had flared up again and were burning out of control.
Firefighters have been battling since Wednesday to tend to about 26 different fires.
In Plettenberg Bay, the weather conditions also led to major flare-ups and new fires. Large parts of the town had been destroyed by a fire which ripped through the town’s Kranshoek and Whale Rock areas.
About 1 000 residents had to be evacuated in Plett.
The flare-ups on Saturday occurred along Airport Road, where the road was closed for most of the day. Residents were ordered to evacuate and by 3pm the town’s airport was completely engulfed by smoke.
Further flare-ups occurred in the Brackenridge area, with residents ordered to evacuate at 6pm in the surrounding streets. The wind died down, however, and the order was downgraded to standby.
Bitou municipal spokesman Howard Swartz said another fire had been burning out of control around Jakkalskraal, also near the airport.
He said a fire had also broken out in the Wittedrift area, but residents were not in immediate danger.
Further afield in George, Otto said a fire had broken out near the George Airport and Maalgate area. Residents in the area were evacuated.
Aerial resources were grounded for most of Saturday as a result of the wind. But Styan said the weather conditions had improved during the night and firefighters pushed to contain the fires.
He said aircraft took to the air shortly before 9am yesterday as the previous day’s fog and smog lifted.
They included both water-bombing helicopters and fixed-wing spotter planes.
“The total fire line still stretches to more than 100km between Sedgefield and Plettenberg Bay,” Styan said.
The fires were, however, largely under control by yesterday afternoon and hotspots were being managed by up to 800 firefighters in the area.