Cape Town - A Bainskloof Pass fire has, so far, burned through 261ha of vegetation, with almost 100 firefighters currently on the scene in efforts to contain the blaze.
The Cape Winelands District Municipality’s (CWDM) Fire Services together with partners CapeNature and Winelands Fire Protection Association confirmed their teams continued to fight a large fire in Bainskloof Pass by midday Sunday.
“Currently, the right flank of the mountain is under control, however the left continues to burn out of control. The fire has burned through approximately 261ha of vegetation.
“There are nine fighter fighting vehicles with 20 crew assisted by four contracted ground teams from NCC, 2 teams from CapeNature and 16 ground crew members from the Volunteer Wildfire Services, bringing the total of personnel fighting the fire to 96,” the CWDM said.
Three choppers have been deployed -- Whiskey and Tango from Henley Air and the Black Hawk from the Provincial Disaster Management Centre.
The fire was reported late Saturday afternoon and burned out of control fuelled by strong winds.
Meanwhile, the Garden Route District Municipality on Sunday confirmed that there were no signs of any smoke or flare-ups at the Rooiberg Mountain wildfire.
Lightning strikes were reported to have caused several wildfires across the northern parts of the District including the Rooiberg Mountains almost two weeks ago.
Cape Times