Hundreds of Dunoon residents were left homeless after two informal settlements were burned to the ground at the weekend.
The fire started around 2am on Sunday morning and three people, two men and a woman, were left injured in Ekuphumleni.
Community leader Nosiyabonga Malimke says the fire may have been caused by someone who was cooking.
Malimke says: “What we heard is that someone was cooking at that time of the morning.
“I think he fell asleep while cooking and we know that it was the end of the month.
“We had just had a fire in December in the same area and some homes, which weren’t affected are now burned down.
“Children’s school uniforms and stationery were destroyed in the fire.”
The Gift of the Givers (GTOG) operations manager, Ali Sablay, said their teams received calls for help from mense in the Ekuphumleni informal settlement.
Sablay says: “Our teams were on the ground with the City of Cape Town Disaster Risk Management teams assessing the damages.
“Three people have been injured with one male suffering severe burn wounds. Gift of the Givers teams will be assisting the fire victims with humanitarian assistance over the next few days.
“Our teams are currently distributing hot meals for the affected families.”
Hours after the incident, another blaze razed shacks in Bekela informal settlement.
Sablay says: “With severe thunderstorms predicted for the Western Cape, strong winds exacerbated the spread of the fire in the informal settlement. Estimated close to 300 people are affected.”
The City’s Disaster Risk Management Charlotte Powell said the fires destroyed a total of 86 structures.
mandilakhe.tshwete@inl.co.za