Cape Town - Firefighters battled two blazes late on Saturday, with one on Signal Hill still burning.
On Saturday night two helicopters water bombed an extensive area burning on Signal Hill. They were assisted by four fire trucks and four fire vehicles.
Philip Prins, spokeswoman for Table Mountain National Parks (TMNP), said they struggled to contain the fire due to gale-force winds of up to 60-70km/h.
Earlier, traffic snarled near De Waal Drive which was closed for a few hours on Saturday as smoke from a nearby fire on Table Mountain billowed over the N2.
Firefighters battled to douse the fire. The city’s fire and rescue service assisted by TMNP deployed eight vehicles, 28 firefighters, three helicopters and one spotter to put out the blaze which started at 1.14pm. A few hours later the fire was out. But firefighters then had to turn their attention on Signal Hill where a fresh fire had broken out.
There have been 14 fires reported in Cape Town in the past month and the South African Weather Service warned of a possibility of runaway fires in certain parts of the Northern Cape, West Coast District, Cape Metropole, Cape Winelands and the Central Karoo today.
Social media buzzed with the news of the fire with people warning motorists to take alternate routes.
Liesl Moodie, spokeswoman for the city’s fire and rescue services, said the fire was contained at 3.50pm. No damage to property or injuries were reported.
Weekend Argus
* Use IOL’s Facebook and Twitter pages to comment on our stories. See links below.