240 firefighters battle 60 fires
Simon’s Town residents flee after houses catch alight
BILLOWS of thick smoke covered large swathes of sky from Simon’s Town to Atlantis as fire and rescue teams battled at least 60 vegetation fires yesterday. Fire and rescue spokeswoman Liesl Moodie said the city council’s fire teams responded to 60 vegetation fires, adding that approximately 240 firefighters were out from the 30 various stations.
In Simon’s Town, a vegetation fire that started on Wednesday had come down the Simon’s Town side of the mountain and destroyed some properties, with a number of residents forced to evacuate their homes.
Residents walked around with damp cloths covering their mouths and noses, while some used spades and hosepipes to help battle the blaze.
In Afrikander Road, residents looked on while firefighters tried to douse the flames after a house at the end of the street caught alight.
Sue Adler, who lives one door down, said she was worried the fire would destroy her home too. She said she had been living in the house “on and off ” and had recently moved in permanently.
“This one is the worst because it’s so close to our homes. I was coming back from my daughter in Camps Bay when I saw smoke and I never imagined it would have been here.”
Adler said she and her pet dog would be spending the night with her daughter.
“It’s scary. I have been inhaling smoke the whole day and at some point it got so bad it became difficult to breathe.”
Another neighbour, who asked not to be named, said this fire was worse than two others he could remember.
“The fires before were bad but in those we didn’t lose any homes.
“There was a south-easter blowing on Wednesday and during the night the (wind) direction changed and that is what made it worse.”
The South African Weather Service advised Simon’s Town would experience north-westerly winds of between 25 and 30km/h, with light rain.
The rainfall is expected to aid firefighting efforts.
Disaster Risk Management spokeswoman Charlotte Powell said by late yesterday afternoon residents of Runciman Heights and Harbour Heights were being evacuated.
“Thirteen structures were affected, two houses in Afrikander Road were completely destroyed and in Valley Road one house and one double garage were destroyed.
“In Dorries Road three houses were damaged and at the Oatlands Holiday Village six structures were damaged.”
The SA Navy, the city council’s biodiversity unit and the National Sea Rescue Institute’s volunteers were also part of the operation, and Powell added that emergency shelter had been made available in Simon’s Town and Fish Hoek.
A helicopter and five fire engines were battling the blaze, and later resorted to pumping water from swimming pools in the vicinity.
The Cape of Good Hope SPCA was also in Simon’s Town to assist with animals in distress.
Spokeswoman for the organisation, Wanika Davids, said they had assisted a number of families with their pets and were nursing a tortoise that suffered burns to its shell.
“We also got a couple of reports of Gemsbok that have been running around, but we haven’t seen any close enough for us to capture.
“We have our wildlife team and inspectors out on call for any displaced animals.”
She added that the penguin colony at Boulders Beach was being monitored and called for residents to report any animals in distress.
Roads leading into Simon’s Town and Cape Point, between Boulders Beach, remained closed by late yesterday.
No injuries or fatalities were reported in yesterday’s fires