The fire started at 11:20 and was only extinguished in the early hours of the morning on Sunday, May 8.

“We still do not know what started the fire at the packhouse, but one thing we know for sure is that it was not started on purpose since the packhouse was locked and we only opened it when we saw smoke coming from it,” Gert Cloete, Blydevallei Canyon Packers manager told the Herald.

He said an engineer has been contacted to assess what might have caused it to prevent it from happening again. He further said since it is only a carton packhouse, it will have no impact on fruit exports. “We lost a lot of cartons and have been in contact with our suppliers to help us with cartons. Fortunately, it is not linked to the citrus packhouse.”

According to him, they are in the process of getting quotations to have the pack house demolished and rebuild the facility. On Saturday farmers, residents and emergency personnel rushed to the scene to assist with extinguishing the fire. “I would like to thank everyone for their help and assistance during the fire,” said Dr. Pieter Scholtz, owner of Blydevallei.

Also read: Fire claims two lives in Kgaphamadi

“To my Blydevallei team and all our employees who did everything they could to control the fire, all the farmers in the area who came to help with water trucks, the Hoedspruit Farm Watch, the Hoedspruit and Phalaborwa fire brigades who worked until late Saturday night to fight the fire, I would like to say thank you,” Scholtz said on the Blydevallei Facebook group.

He also thanked the community for the messages of care and encouragement that they received from the community. “We have an incredible community that stands together and cares during an emergency situation! Thank you to each and everyone who showed up and offered help. It is truly appreciated,” he said.

“To our suppliers, service providers, exporters, receivers, transportation, and logistics teams, thank you for going out of your way to accommodate and assist us.”