Inferno destorys Cape homes

Unabating strong winds were hampering efforts by firemen to extinguish a raging fire in Somerset West, Cape Town's Fire Chief Ian Schnetler said. Photo: Independent Newspapers

Unabating strong winds were hampering efforts by firemen to extinguish a raging fire in Somerset West, Cape Town's Fire Chief Ian Schnetler said. Photo: Independent Newspapers

Published Apr 17, 2011

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Dozens of Somerset West residents watched helplessly as their homes went up in flames on Saturday while hundreds of people were evacuated from their mountainside houses.

They desperately grabbed pets and valuables before fleeing.

The fire, which engulfed at least 11 buildings in Somerset West and consumed scores of hectares of farmland, started at Erinvale Golf Estate. Speculation late yesterday was that a controlled burn on the estate on Friday had flared out of control in yesterday’s howling south-easter.

By last night, the fire, which began around 8am, had still not been brought under control as strong winds fanned the flames.

At the time of going to press, there were still fire-fighting vehicles and about 200 emergency services staff on the scene. Fire and rescue services spokesman Theo Layne said they would be staying in the area overnight to fight any flare-ups.

Earlier, the fire had nearly reached the R44, spreading rapidly down the mountain and burning a trail through vegetation as it made its way to a nearby farm. The fire department posted three fire trucks on the farm.

Earlier in the day, families desperately tried to save what they could and then stood by helplessly as their upmarket homes high on the mountainside, with glorious views of False Bay, were burnt to the ground.

Trish Lombaard, one of the first residents to be evacuated, watched as three helicopters water-bombed the fire as it moved down the mountain toward her family’s small cottage.

“The fire spread so fast, by the time we realised we had to go it was about 5m away from my home. I grabbed some clothes, some files and a few family photographs before we got out.”

Ignatius Smart, Cape Town’s head of fire and life safety, said the fire started at the top of Erinvale and spread to Protea Farm.

Several firefighters told Weekend Argus that the controlled burn on Erinvale Estate – an exclusive hotel and golf course – had started the fire. However, Smart said he could not confirm this.

A manager at Erinvale refused to comment and when asked for her name and surname, hung up.

People gathered outside the Straightway Country hotel and looked on as the firefighters battled the flames engulfing their homes.

The hotel itself suffered major damage, with several chalets burnt.

Emergency services started evacuating residents yesterday morning as the fire spread from Erinvale to Helderberg Nature Reserve and into the Parel Vallei residential area.

Firefighters set up a base at the entrance of the nature reserve and the entrance to the Kings Kloof farm.

A thick wall of smoke made it impossible to enter the farm on foot and residents were evacuated by emergency vehicles. Many cried as they were forced to leave their homes and carried what little they could save with them.

Several farms showed just how intense the blaze had become. Hectare upon hectare of vineyards had been burnt as the fire raged out of control.

One of the more fortunate farmers, Richard Newton King, said while his home and most of his vineyard were saved by the timely arrival of the fire department, his cousin was not so lucky.

“As soon as we wanted to leave my place to get her stuff, a giant wall of flames cut us off. We were forced to watch as her house was destroyed by the flames.

“The fire on its own is horrible enough but the damage to the harvest and our livelihood is unimaginable at this point. When the rains come, it will erode the land and it will be unusable.” - Kowthar Solomons, Helen Bamford and Bianca Capazorio

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