![Cape Town-150308- The grounds of Noordhoek Farm Village was open to the public, to honour the bravery of the volunteer firefighters & to celebrate the community spirit in the South Peninsula. Local South African bands [Freshly Ground, Beatenberg, Me & Mr Brown & more], where also in attendance to get the crowd singing & dancing & also to help raise funds for the Volunteer Wildfire Services. Photo: Ross Jansen](https://image-prod.iol.co.za/16x9/1600/Cape-Town-150308-The-grounds-of-Noordhoek-Farm-Village-was-open-to-the-public-to-honour-the-bravery-of-the-volunteer-firefighters-andamp-to-celebrate-the-community-spirit-in-the-South-Peninsula-Local-South-African-bands-Freshly-Ground-Beatenberg-Me-andamp-Mr-Brown-andamp-more-where-also-in-attendance-to-get-the-crowd-singing-andamp-dancing-andamp-also-to-help-raise-funds-for-the-Volunteer-Wildfire-Services-Photo-Ross-Jansen?source=https://xlibris.public.prod.oc.inl.infomaker.io:8443/opencontent/objects/430f28af-67ac-5e2f-8ccf-2450a2ebf840)
Cape Town - The latest flare-ups, above Constantia and at the Cape Point Nature Reserve have died down and firefighters can breathe a collective sigh of relief after a week of battling raging blazes in the South Peninsula.
Two fresh teams of firefighters have been sent into the nature reserve to help a team already there to prevent further start-ups, while the Constantia firefighting lines were being shut down on Monday, said Table Mountain National Park fire manager Philip Prins.
“At the moment we are purely monitoring areas all over and making sure that things are under control. There are a few flare-ups but we have been able to handle them,” City of Cape Town Fire and Rescue spokesman Theo Layne said on Sunday.
He said earlier that 13 firefighting units had been deployed across the city – with two vehicles and a water tanker – keeping an eye on the Tokai/Constantia area.
“That area is quite large and we have received calls for an extra vehicle to be deployed there. There are guys on alert all over the city and we are keeping an eye on Constantia and Old Boyes Drive in Kalk Bay. Those are some of the hot spots,” Layne said.
Throughout last week firefighters and residents were on high alert after a week-long fire raged across the Southern Peninsula, affecting areas surrounding Chapman’s Peak and Ou Kaapseweg. Five-star resort Tintswalo Atlantic, situated between Chapman’s Peak and Hout Bay, was gutted, while homes were also damaged.
Outgoing Wynberg Boys’ High school headmaster Keith Richardson as well as pensioners Fran and Jeffrey Collings were among those affected by the fire as 13 properties were damaged in Muizenberg, Tokai, Noordhoek and Chapman’s Peak.
The executive director for the city’s Safety and Security department, Richard Bosman, said his department deployed 30 staff members at various fire stations to help residents.
“We have staff members responding to calls at the fire stations in Hout Bay, Lakeside, Fish Hoek and Simon’s Town. We also have staff at the Table Mountain National Park who are monitoring the area and dousing tree stumps to prevent flare-ups,” said Bosman.
Over the weekend it was reported that damage to property amounted to more than R60 million, while Bosman said the city spent about R6m to fight the fires.
“SANParks has also confirmed that about 5 500 hectares of vegetation has been (burnt).” The flames that ravaged the peninsula seemed to have died down by the end of last week. However, lightning caused another blaze at Cape Point over the weekend. Layne said he was relieved to see an end to the fires that raged from last Sunday, adding that he was aware that more work still needed to be done.
“We are glad to have the fire under control but it does not mean that we are not still busy fighting out there. There were 28 vegetation fires this weekend, so our focus is on that. Vegetation fires don’t just stop, so they need to be monitored constantly.”
Both Layne and Bosman also sent their condolences to the family of Hendrik Willem Marais, who lost his life yesterday when his helicopter crashed at Cape Point while on duty. – Additional reporting by Henri du Plessis
Cape Argus