Cape Town Fire: SANParks praises bravery of firefighters
SANParks estimates that the fire has destroyed 600 hectares of land in the TMNP thus far.
The South African National Parks (SANParks) praised the bravery and dedication of firefighters in their efforts to contain the Cape Town fire which destroyed the Table Mountain National Park.
Those involved in containing the fire included the volunteers, City of Cape Town (CoCT) Fire, Rescue Services and Table Mountain National Park (TMNP) rangers, amongst others.
“The devastating fires across the TMNP have brought home the value of partnerships and working together as a community to manage this National Park we all love.
Rodger Bosch
Cape Town firefighters will keep a close eye on any possible flare-ups
over the next few days.
Eleven structures were damaged or destroyed.
Nine civilians were taken to hospital and six firefighters sustained
injuries.
A devastating veldfire on the slopes of Table Mountain has destroyed 650
hectares – and firefighters will be on standby throughout the night to prevent
any flare-ups.
SANParks fire chief, Philip Prins, said: More than 150
firefighters from Table Mountain National Park/contract wildfire crews (NCC
Wildfires), Working on Fire, Volunteer Wildfire Services and City of Cape Town
were deployed on the fire line, with assistance from five aerial support
defenceWeb
Written by defenceWeb -
An Oryx drops water from a Bambi bucket.
The South African Air Force (SAAF) provided Oryx helicopters to help fight the Table Mountain fire that began on Sunday 18 April. The fire is currently largely contained, but not out.
The SAAF’s resources were activated on Monday and were placed on standby, but helicopters could not initially fly due to strong winds. When conditions calmed on Tuesday 20 April, Working on Fire UH-1 Huey and SAAF Oryx helicopters dropped water on the fire on the slopes of Table Mountain.
South African National Parks (SANParks) thanked firefighters and others who helped contain the fire. “The devastating fires across the TMNP [Table Mountain National Park] have brought home the value of partnerships and working together as a community to manage this National park we all love. Without the collective efforts of the 125 TMNP rangers, the 170 fire and rescue workers, the South African National Defence Force, CoCT [City of
Cape Town fire danger ânot entirely over just yet
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Cape Town - Despite the wildfire that broke out on the slopes of Table Mountain on Sunday morning having been largely contained, the danger has not entirely passed.
Anton Bredell, the local government MEC for Environmental Affairs and Development Planning in the Western Cape, warned that the danger was not entirely over just yet.
He said that overnight the wind dropped significantly, allowing helicopters to water-bomb the fire lines from early in the morning.
âOur first priority remains fully extinguishing all of the fire lines. Then, over the next few days, firefighters will continue to dampen down the affected areas and monitor for flare-ups until we are 100% sure the fire is out.
Firefighters and officials had a hellish Monday while fighting Cape Town fire iol.co.za - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from iol.co.za Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.