Two people have died and hundreds more were left homeless after fires swept through three informal settlements over the Easter Weekend.
The City says in total, 339 structures were destroyed, affecting 759 persons.
In Zone 30, Joe Slovo, Langa 68 homes were gutted while in Dunoon 71 shacks were destroyed.
In Mfuleni, 200 shacks were burnt to the ground on Sunday morning.
The Gift of the Givers was on the ground to assess the situation.
Project coordinator Ali Sablay says: “Gift of the Givers teams were on site at the scene in Joe Slovo informal settlement in Langa.
“It was a bleak Easter weekend for the affected families as they could save no belongings, with schools opening this week. Credit due to the City of Cape Town fire department for containing the blaze. Gift of the Givers teams assisted the families with humanitarian assistance.
“We also went to Dunoon and Mfuleni.”
On Sunday morning in Covid-19 informal settlement, a woman allegedly set her boyfriend’s shack alight in a fit of jealous rage.
Community leader Mfundo Ganeko explains: “They were drinking the whole night and around 11pm, the girlfriend saw that her boyfriend was with another woman and they disappeared. She went looking for him at his shack and decided to burn it down.”
He says the fire spread quickly and they couldn’t extinguish the flames.
“Closer to the place, there was another couple and they too were drunk, they were confirmed dead. People didn’t have the tools to extinguish the fire, their structures were built too close to each other, and it was also windy.
“For two hours, they watched the blaze consume their homes, the firefighters were unable to gain access to the area because there are no roads. About 250 shacks were destroyed and about 400 people were displaced.”
Ganeko adds the woman who is suspected to have started the fire has fled the area.
“She is nowhere to be found, people did look for her and she has run away.”
Police spokesperson Joseph Swartbooi said Mfuleni police attended the scene, where the bodies of a man, 28, and woman, 25, were discovered in the debris.
“Mfuleni police registered an inquest for further investigation.”
Fire and Rescue Services spokesperson Jermaine Carelse said it was a busy weekend for firefighters, as they attended to two incidents in Langa, one in Dunoon and one in Mfuleni where two people died and two people sustained injuries.
“The cause of the (Mfuleni) fire is unknown pending an investigation by the South African Police Service.”
Disaster Risk Management spokesperson Charlotte Powell said they alerted their humanitarian aid partners to provide assistance to all those affected by the fires through the provision of food, blankets, clothing and toiletry packs.
mandilakhe.tswete@inl.co.za