Cape Town - Firefighters in Cape Town were on Wednesday still battling several blazes around the Cape peninsula.
A large fire in Gordon's Bay which destroyed several dwellings as well as an animal shelter on Tuesday was being monitored on Wednesday morning. Strong winds had fanned the fire on Tuesday but according to Theo Layne of the City's Fire Department the fire was being monitored and "firefighters are dealing with the hotspots and possible flareups should they occur".
The blaze and thick smoke led to the closure of several major routes around Gordon's Bay, including the coastal R44 and Sir Lowry's which was eventually opened on Wednesday morning.
Some hectic images of the #SirLowrysPassFire last night. Big up to the @vwsfires team for all their hard work!
🔥 🔥 🔥
📷: @Jessica_Lizzy_L pic.twitter.com/rdMpruIAtc
— Dylan Moore (@MrCPT) November 8, 2017
On Duty Gordons Bay Fire #GordonsBayFire @cptfrs @vwsfires pic.twitter.com/Hp4BD31XJ4
— Denver Jordaan (@denverjordaan) November 8, 2017
VIDEO #GordonsBayFire
Ground crew remain on scene #SavingLives #ProtectingTheEnvironment #SirLowrysPassFire
@StormReportSA1 Taken from #Heldervue5min.ago yo!!!-It is very..very BAD!! #GordonsBay pic.twitter.com/DqhxuKqAA0
— corne du preez (@corne06946803) November 7, 2017
Meanwhile, the dry windy conditions also saw a fire at Red Hill above Simon's Town.
According to the City of Cape Town, several structures were affected at the Simon's Town naval base while the blaze spread in the direction of Scarborough.
"We had a fire that started at about 22h30 at Red Hill," a City spokesperson said. "The Red Hill fire is contained but active firefighting is still actively taking place."