SANParks blamed by groups for ignoring mountain vagrant fires over the years
By Shakirah Thebus
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Cape Town - Mountain-user groups have pointed a finger at SA National Parks (SANParks) for allowing vagrants to start fires that eventually led to the latest Table Mountain blaze, despite numerous reports about vagrant fires over the years.
Table Mountain Watch (TMW), a collective of concerned residents, said SANParks had been repeatedly warned of the threat posed by these fires, coupled with the mismanagement of vegetation.
TMW head André Van Schalkwyk said: “As park users, we have alerted SANParks to locations, incidents, evidence of where indigent people camp in the park – on countless occasions and over many, many years. It makes no sense to conveniently blame vagrants when, as a state-owned enterprise, they’ve done very little to address the problem.”
WATCH: Evacuations under way in Vredehoek as strong winds fan Table Mountain fire
By IOL Reporter
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Cape Town - Vredehoek residents in the City Bowl began evacuating their homes early this morning as strong winds picked up at about 2am and keep fanning a fire that started at about 8.45am yesterday and has razed iconic Cape Town landmarks.
City of Cape Town Disaster Risk Management spokesperson Charlotte Powell confirmed that evacuations were under way, with Fire and Rescue vehicles on the scene as the wind speed is predicted to increase throughout the morning. In Vredehoek, Chelmsford Road and Pepper Tree Road have been closed as well as Tafelberg Road, said the City’s Traffic Services spokesperson, Maxine Bezuidenhout.
THE director of the UCT libraries has said that the Reading Room of the Jagger Library has been completely gutted by Sundayâs fire. Picture: UCT Libraries/Facebook
Some of our valuable collections at Jagger Library have been lost in the fire, says UCT libraries head
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CAPE TOWN â The director of the UCT libraries has said that the Reading Room of the Jagger Library has been completely gutted by yesterdayâs fire.
Executive Director of UCT Libraries, Ujala Satgoor, announced late last night that while some parts of the Jagger Library were gutted, the fire was stopped from spreading to other sections of the library.
The University of Cape Town’s Jagger Library, which housed thousands of theses, artworks, and precious documents, has been gutted. (Photo: Ashraf Hendricks)
On Sunday 18 April 2021, a massive fire made its way through the Rhodes Memorial, spreading down to the University of Cape Town.
One of the affected areas is the Reading Room of the UCT Libraries’s Jagger Library.
Below is the aftermath in pictures.
The burning of the University of Cape Town’s J.W. Jagger Library on 18 April could be one of South Africa’s greatest losses of memory.
Many of the most precious records housed at the building may have been protected at lower levels by the library’s fire doors, but huge collections of literature and records may have been destroyed.
Photos: Cape Town fire s tragic wake of destruction captured thesouthafrican.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from thesouthafrican.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.