City of Cape Town orders precautionary evacuations amid spreading fires

NEWS

Residents living in the Cape Town city bowl and surrounding areas have been evacuated as a mountain fire rages.

Cape Town mayoral committee member for safety and security Alderman JP Smith says precautionary evacuations have been carried out in areas such as Vredehoek.

With heavy smoke bellowing and soot filling the air, Walmer Estate residents have voluntarily evacuated their homes seeking safety.

The City’s Air Quality Monitoring Unit has recorded very high levels of Particulate Matter (PM10 and PM 2.5) at the Foreshore Monitoring Station. Asthmatics and other sensitive receptors with respiratory conditions are urged to stay indoors and keep windows and doors closed.

The fire initially started in the vicinity of Rhodes Memorial on Sunday and continued to spread in the direction of Vredehoek.

Smith said two city firefighters had been injured.

“All efforts remain focused on active firefighting for the moment, although the fire is hard to reach in places and we hope that aerial firefighting support can be deployed to douse the flames before it reaches the urban edge. However, the wind could impact on this deployment,” he said.

“For the moment, there are some precautionary evacuations taking place in Vredehoek, but no other evacuations were necessary overnight. We commend the firefighters, Disaster Risk Management staff and volunteers, the enforcement staff and every other agency and individual who have played a role in the efforts to contain the fire, and continue to do so,” Smith added.

Speculation is rife around whether the original fire was an act of arson.

Smith said that would form part of investigations, but that the “City can confirm that one suspect in his 30s was taken into custody last night in the vicinity of Devil’s Peak”.

“He was spotted by a resident, who tracked him down with the help of his sons and the family’s dogs. The matter is with SAPS for investigation and further details will follow as they become available,” said Smith.

“For now, the focus is on bringing the fire under control and we appeal to the public to assist the authorities by following instructions in respect of evacuations where necessary, staying away from the active firefighting scenes so that firefighters can focus on the job at hand, and by reporting any information that may be relevant to the investigations into this incident,” said Smith

The University of Cape Town (UCT) has put emergency measures in place in order to respond to the fire on the Rondebosch campus.

“All academic activities will be suspended on Monday and Tuesday. We will provide further updates in due course,” said UCT spokesperson, Elijah Moholola in a statement.

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Meanwhile, the DA’s Dave Bryant has written to the minister of environment, forestry and fisheries, Barbara Creecy, to request an urgent investigation into the circumstances leading to the fire on the slopes of Table Mountain and the subsequent damage to UCT, Mostert’s Mill and other buildings.

Bryant, DA spokesperson on environment, forestry and fisheries matter, on Monday said while the hot weather and high winds certainly played a major role in the fast spread of the fire, there should have been more effective contingency measures in place to prevent the rapid spread and both SANParks and UCT need to provide answers in this regard.

Among some of the things, Bryant said they want investigated was whether:

*All firebreaks in the area were properly cut and maintained prior to the outbreak of the fire;

*The threat of the high fuel load from the old pine trees and debris close to UCT had been identified by SANParks, and if so, why this had not been addressed;

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*All fire hydrants in the area were/are in proper working order and whether there were a sufficient number of hydrants; and

*Whether there are other areas in the Table Mountain National Park with high fuel loads that could lead to other fires.

“In response to a parliamentary question I submitted in February, Creecy gave the assurance that SANParks was preparing for potential mountain fires and that homes close to the mountain were protected by firebreaks. It appears that these firebreaks have not proven as effective as thought, as it is clear that the fire managed to reach suburban homes and cause severe damage to UCT. Burning debris and embers spread to suburbs quite far from the mountain edge, setting trees alight.

“We commend and thank all those brave firefighters, rangers, volunteers and law enforcement staff for their ongoing efforts to stop the fire and keep communities safe. Our thoughts are also with all those whose properties have been damaged or are under threat,” said Bryant.

Lubabalo Ngcukana  Journalist +27 11 713 9001 lubabalo.ngcukana@citypress.co.za www.citypress.co.za 69 Kingsway Rd, Auckland Park