Devastating fire causes damage to The Ranch
Carlos and Vicky Neto recently purchased the property and the building stood as a beacon for Heidelberg and surrounding areas.
The owners of The Ranch Restaurant and Function Venue are still coming to terms with the devastating fire which caused extensive damage to their property on November 4.
Owned by Carlos and Vicky Neto, the venue is situated 6km outside Heidelberg on the R42 road towards Meyerton.
A veld fire came over the mountain behind the property at around 13:00. Strong winds swept it further and sparked a thatch roof on The Ranch property.
The fire destroyed the thatch roof, and the wind coaxed the fire in different directions.
By 20:00 on Monday, the fires were still out of control and an urgent request for help came through the Heidelberg CSU (Community Safety Unit) WhatsApp group.
Lesedi Fire Department officials, community firefighters and neighbours all got stuck in containing the fires.
The fire at The Ranch was under control shortly after 22:00 on Monday. However, the veld fire ran in different directions towards the mountain, neighbouring farms, and Sedaven Estate.
By Tuesday, most of the fire was under control, however, pockets of smouldering embers remained. These hot spots still posed a threat that could reignite the fire if left unchecked. Community firefighters and Lesedi Fire continued to patrol the area diligently, extinguishing flare-ups.
Carlos and Vicky recently purchased the property, and the building stood as a beacon for Heidelberg and the surrounding areas.
Although fires raged around the church chapel on the premises, the fires did not touch the chapel.
“We will only know the extent of the damage in the next few days and what the best way would be to get the venue up and running,” said Carlos.
“Being the festive season, we have booked out the venue for the next few months for events and this damage will set us back quite a bit.
“We hope that the insurance will conclude their assessments so that we can start with repairs and not suffer too big a loss,” said Vicky.
No injuries were reported and the estimate for the damages has not yet been disclosed.
