Firefighters in Cape City on Wednesday have been battling a wildfire that broke out in Desk Mountain Nationwide Park and unfold in a single day towards the town, native authorities mentioned.
The wildfire has burned for a number of days within the Newlands space, excessive within the mountainous slopes of the park, however sturdy gusting winds pushed it towards Cape City’s central enterprise district in a single day, hearth and park officers mentioned.
The scale of the hearth and the extent of any potential property harm was nonetheless being decided, mentioned Edward Bosch, a spokesman for the Cape City Hearth and Rescue Service. However he described the blaze as “intensive.” He mentioned there was no risk to the downtown space as of Wednesday morning, however famous that might change relying on the wind and different elements all through the day.
Trails in Desk Mountain Nationwide Park, a well-liked climbing spot for residents and vacationers, have been closed after the hearth started earlier this week. As of Monday, the hearth had burned by means of at the very least 148 acres of land, according to a physique accountable for managing the nationwide park, which mentioned on Monday that it was involved about “the continued presence of hikers in areas which have been closed off.”
A second hearth, within the Crimson Hill area of the park, was additionally burning on Wednesday morning.
No evacuations had been ordered, Mr. Bosch mentioned. Two helicopters had been water-bombing the hearth since dawn on Wednesday, he mentioned, and a 3rd helicopter was on its method from the close by city of Stellenbosch.
“If the circumstances are favorable in the present day, then it ought to be beneath management by in the present day,” he mentioned.
Park officers mentioned that greater than 80 firefighters from numerous businesses had been dispatched to fight the hearth. Operators of a cable automobile working from Desk Mountain to the central district mentioned in a social media post on Wednesday that it might shut till additional discover due to smoke from the wildfires.
Several major mountain fires have burned within the Western Cape province lately. Residents of Cape City, who dwell near the mountain’s foothills, are particularly involved. Ecologists have urged nationwide park officers to conduct extra prescribed burnings of vegetation to cease uncontrollable wildfires.
