Cape Town - It is crucial for members of the public across the province to keep their wits about them in the coming months as the fire danger risk is high, according to Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning MEC Anton Bredell.
Advising the public to report fires immediately and not to assume they have been reported, Bredell said: “The public’s help is critical, and visitors and residents of the Western Cape must act quickly and responsibly to prevent fires and when seeing fires.
“Early fire warnings remain critical to controlling fires quickly. When a fire does break out, getting control over it as quickly as possible is vital. If we can get to a fire within the first hour, the possibility of a major incident is minimised,” said Bredell.
“We ask everyone to take extra special care and to only make fires in designated places, do not throw cigarette butts out the window and make sure braai fires are properly extinguished before leaving them.
“Summers in the Western Cape can be hot and very windy, and this has in the past contributed to the severity of wildfires. The provincial authorities, along with all our partners, are on standby already to tackle wildfires that may occur.”
With regards to dam levels, Bredell said: “The latest average dam level in the province is 79.8%.”
City Mayco member for Water and Waste, Xanthea Limberg, said: “The total capacity of dams supplying the Cape Town metro decreased slightly from 99.2% to 98.2% between October 26 and November 1, a 1% decline from the previous week.”
“Water consumption for the same period decreased by eight million litres per day from an average of 717 million litres per day the previous week to 709 million litres per day,” said Limberg.
Cape Argus