MEDIA RELEASE
NO. 183 / 2015
04 MARCH 2015
Firefighters from various agencies continue to actively manage a fire in the South Peninsula, three days after it started in Muizenberg above Boyes Drive.
Currently, the firefighting efforts are focused on the following hotspots: Lower Constantia Nek and the upper Tokai area, Clovelly, Fish Hoek, Kalk Bay, Hout Bay and Noordhoek. A total of six helicopters are water-bombing hotspots, including two paid for by the City of Cape Town, two from Table Mountain National Park and two Oryx helicopters from the South African National Defence Force (SANDF). Working on Fire sourced an additional 150 staff members who have been deployed with other ground crews.
The prevailing weather conditions in the affected areas are overcast with a bit of drizzle and very little wind.
There have been conflicting reports about the number of properties damaged. The City of Cape Town’s Fire and Rescue Service staff will therefore conduct site visits to all locations where damage was reported to clarify the situation. More than 500 residents have been evacuated from various areas since the fire started, but most have returned to their homes.
Boyes Drive, Chapman’s Peak Drive, and Clovelly Road remain closed to traffic, as well as Price Road and Schoenstatt (Groot Constantia) and Ou Wingerd Road.
‘We would like to thank the public for so generously donating to the firefighting cause by providing food and drink to the staff on duty. However, we have been overrun with donations and I would therefore kindly request that the public refrain from making further donations. We will communicate any further needs as they occur. I would also like to appeal to the public to please steer clear of the affected areas. I realise that there is massive spectator value, but not when it impacts on the fire crews trying to do their job or jeopardises the public’s safety. I would also like to remind motorists that pulling over along the highways to watch the fire is dangerous, but also illegal and I urge them to refrain from doing so,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security, Alderman JP Smith.
While the fire is still burning, the City requests that residents in low-lying areas (who are not impacted by the approaching fires) use water sparingly to allow the reservoirs serving these areas to maintain manageable operating levels. This will ensure the effective supply of water to emergency services teams.
Fact sheet:
- The fire started in the early hours of Sunday 1 March 2015 above Boyes Drive in Muizenberg and subsequently spread over an extensive area, including Ou Kaapse Weg, Chapman’s Peak, Hout Bay and Tokai as a result of strong winds.
- The City’s Fire and Rescue Service, Disaster Risk Management and Environmental Resource Management staff and volunteers, along with Table Mountain National Park, Working On Fire volunteers, Wild Land Fire Services and Volunteer Wildfire Services are involved in the firefighting effort.
- One firefighter sustained burn wounds and is in hospital; 52 frail-care residents of a Noordhoek retirement village were treated for smoke inhalation.
- Members of the public in affected areas are advised to hose down thatched roofs, keep all windows closed, and to call the City of Cape Town’s 107 Public Emergency Call Centre in the event of an emergency. They can dial 107 from a landline and 021 480 7700 from a cellphone.
END
ISSUED BY:
INTEGRATED STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION, BRANDING AND MARKETING DEPARTMENT, CITY OF CAPE TOWNMEDIA ENQUIRIES:
ALDERMAN JP SMITH
MAYORAL COMMITTEE MEMBER FOR SAFETY AND SECURITY
CITY OF CAPE TOWN
TEL: 021 400 1311 CELL: 083 675 3780, E-MAIL: JEAN-PIERRE.SMITH@CAPETOWN.GOV.ZA (PLEASE ALWAYS COPY MEDIA.ACCOUNT@CAPETOWN.GOV.ZA)