More than 200 firefighters were still on the ground in Simon’s Town yesterday afternoon, along with a fleet of City firefighting equipment including 20 pumps, four water tankers and four skids, to stop the runaway wildfire, which has been raging since Tuesday morning.
Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security, JP Smith, said in addition, Table Mountain National Park had five tankers and one skid on site, along with various ground teams.
Smith says: “Currently, firefighting efforts continue in Simon’s Town, involving City staff, but also numerous other agencies. Staff fought throughout the night [Tuesday] to protect homes and other structures, while some precautionary evacuations took place in the vicinity of Barnard and Victory Street.”
Smith said the fire was not yet contained, but the situation was more manageable as the wind had subsided considerably, and five aerial support craft assisted with water-bombing efforts.
City Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson Jermaine Carelse said they first received an emergency call of the mountain slopes fire after 7am on Tuesday.
Carelse said five firefighters had sustained injuries and two were taken to hospital.
The City says since the beginning of December, its Fire Service has responded to more than 2 500 incidents, including fires and special service calls like motor-vehicle accidents and trauma cases.
Of these, 60 percent or 1 500 have been vegetation fires.