The Castle Rock/Simon’s Town fire, which also affected Simon’s Town, Glencairn, Hout Bay and Scarborough, was the largest blaze affecting the Table Mountain National Park (TMNP) in 2023.
The runaway fire which started on 19 December, saw hundreds of firefighters battling flames, fanned by strong winds, for nearly a week.
TMNP said an estimated 3 400 hectares of land was burnt, including private, public works and TMNP properties.
At the height of the fires, TMNP had just over 200 firefighters on a 24-hour shift under the co- ordination of SANParks.
The City’s Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson Jermaine Carelse said the City had approximately 300 firefighters on scene.
These exclude the hundreds of volunteers who also rendered services.
A day after the fires had erupted, five firefighters were injured and two were transported to hospital. At the time, Carelse said the injuries included smoke inhalation, an eye injury, a twisted ankle and a leg injury.
The blaze was finally contained on 25 December.
TMNP manager Megan Taplin said no residential structures were lost during the fire with the exception of minor damage reported to infrastructure.
Taplin explains that TMNP was in the process of finalising the detailed mapping, saying: “This has taken longer than would normally be the case.
“However it was not a ‘normal’ fire event as TMNP together with the City had multiple large fire events burning at geographically different locations, at times simultaneously, making it complex to manage and allocate resources during the period leading up to and including Christmas.”
While the extent of the fire is still being assessed, the Swartkop Berg trail remains closed.
Taplin says they will also keep an eye on the germination of invasive seedlings and allocate resources to keep them in check.
shakirah.thebus@inl.co.za