Five confirmed dead in Knysna fires

At least five people have died in the Knysna fires, which are still not under control, while damage to property is beyond calculable at this stage, reports the Knysna-Plett Herald.

On Wednesday – three people, a man, his wife and their son – died in Rheenendal when they could not escape the flames. An elderly man who lives in Brenton had a heart-attack and died.

A four-year-old girl was found dead by her father on Thursday morning, in Welbedaght. There are no further details about this death.

By midday on Thursday, no other deaths have been reported to the police, but an update will follow.

Sergeant Chris Spies said patients from the Knysna provincial hospital were evacuated on Wednesday night and are now being looked after at Loerie Park in the squash courts, ablution facilities and the club house.

Spies said that 21 emergency centres would be set up.

In the meantime, Spies has advised homeless people to go to community halls in Chris Hani, Khayalethu, Loerie Park and an area which has been set up just behind Mitchell’s Brewery in Waterfront Drive.

Fire chief Clinton Manuel said the Knysna fires were still not under control, but the rain, which is now falling, will help and additional resources are onboard.

Firefighters from Cape Town, the Overberg, Overstrand, George, Oudtshoorn and all of Knysna’s fire-fighting teams are working with Working On Fire, including the Southern Cape Fire protection services.

In an interview, Manuel said although the N2, Main Road, was now open, he warned people to drive very carefully because of the thick smog. Roads to Rheenendal and to Brenton are still closed.

Manuel said the fire-fighting operation had been broken into six sectors to make it more manageable.

The sectors are Elandskraal, which includes Karatara and Rheenendal, the Concordia sector, which includes all the Northern areas like White Location, Dam-se-Bos, the Pezula sector, which includes Fernwood, Hunter’s Home and Hornlee, the Belvidere Centre, which includes Brenton-on-Lake and Brenton-on-Sea and Buffalo Bay.

A town sector has also been allocated, which includes areas from Pezula to Eastford, Welbedaght to Knysna Heights. The sixth sector is Kruisfontein, which includes areas out of town towards Plettenberg Bay.

Manuel’s plea was for the public to please not even try phoning the municipality fire services number as the high number of calls is causing the entire phone system to crash.

Many small shops are closed in Knysna on Thursday. Checkers is only allowing five people into the store at one time, owing to a staff shortage. Big shops like Pick n Pay and Food Lovers Market are open.

The damage to homes and institutions will become clearer during the course of the day, but it is known that Oakhill School was affected by the fire.

How people are affected

People from all over Knysna who were evacuated from their homes on Wednesday night gathered at the Knysna Yacht Club which opened its doors to those in need.

Pets, families, folk from as far afield as White Location to Belvidere gathered in a surreal atmosphere watching the fire burning on either side of the estuary.

The floor became a bed to those who stayed the entire night. “Surreal” is the only way to describe the atmosphere as people helped each other, encouraged each other and even made jokes.

The biggest worry for most was that they had not rescued: their passports. Others thought of sentimental items like photographs. One women remembered a brand new jacket she had bought. People joked about their entire lives being wiped out, from birth certificates to their qualifications to all the important documents they owned.

For some that has come true today.

One man joked that he hoped the whole of Knysna was not insured by the same company and another person chipped in and said that most insurance companies do not cover natural disasters.

Tessa Jones and her husband Andrew, who were at the Yacht Club last night, went home in the early hours of Thursday morning to find they had lost their entire home in Eastford, burnt to the ground. It is also believed that founder member of the Simola Hillclimb, Chick Ramsay, lost his house also in Eastford.

Knysna

The Knysna fires devastated huge areas of prime real estate and informal dwellings on Wednesday night, and they continue to burn in places.

A helicopter flew over the Knysna-Plett Herald offices on Spring Street on Thursday morning, and it was believed it was flying over the hill towards White Location.

On Thursday morning, the sky was still thick with smoke, and it was dim, so it was impossible to say whether the helicopter was dropping water bombs.

The South African Defence Force is expected in the town soon to help all the local firefighting teams who have battled since early Wednesday morning.

What can be said at this time is that the central business district of Knysna seems to have only suffered wind storm damage.

A quick look at Upper Town would indicate that the fires did not reach homes, but higher up on the hill they may have been burnt.

Known damage was in Belvidere, Knysna Heights, Brenton-on-Lake and Pezula. The reports that schools had been burnt had not yet been confirmed.

White Location lost many houses, but there was no official tally as of Thursday morning.

Charlene Cox, the Knysna-Plett Herald sales executive, is still not sure if her house is standing as in Knysna Heights.

Stefan Goosen, journalist, is beyond himself with relief because the fire in Rheenendal last night almost burnt down his house, but somehow it has managed to stand in an area that has been badly hit.

Boniswa Zwayena of the Knysna-Plett Herald is safe, but said she was evacuated last night.

“A loud hailer at about 11pm warned us to go to nearby creches and churches.”

Zwayena ran for shelter at Dam-se-Bos, which was not affected.

On Thursday morning, it started drizzling.

On Thursday morning, the Knysna fire chief, Clinton Manuel, was not available for comment. His last words at midnight on Wednesday were, “our team is deadbeat. Exhausted, but carrying on the best we can.”

Spokesperson for the Knysna municipality Fran Kirsten was also not available for comment, but she has also been working since the early hours of Tuesday morning.

Plettenberg Bay

Meanwhile, the George Municipality has confirmed that five GO GEORGE buses have been sent to Plettenberg Bay to help evacuate residents threatened by the fires that have raged out of control in that area since yesterday.

Twenty-one GO GEORGE buses were deployed to Knysna last night to evacuate those residents. Behind the scenes, operational staff went to much trouble during the night to limit disruption of service to local passengers today. Only five trips were not executed during morning peak. GO GEORGE is proud and humbled to be in a position to lend a hand to our neighbouring towns in need and thanks the George public for their understanding and support.

It is not possible to predict how long the evacuation process will take, but regular updates about service will be communicated on the GO GEORGE Facebook page as well as through the media.

For updated information, please phone the GO GEORGE Call Centre on 0800 044 044.

Sending in aid

The Letaba Fire Protection Association (LFPA) set off from the Limpopo province on Thursday morning to assist in the fire combat in Knysna and Plettenberg Bay, reports the Letaba Herald.

Zayin Vermaak, representing the LFPA, is piloting the helicopter. Picture: Letaba Herald

Watch the helicopter take off from Tzaneen:

Meanwhile, community members in Edenvale and Bedfordview are rallying behind those left homeless as a result of the Knysna fires.

Donations of bottled water, energy drinks, food, blankets and clothing can be dropped off at the Bedfordview Edenvale News’ office in Greenstone Crescent Shopping Centre on Thursday.

Nic Bruchhausen, an Edenvale resident, will drive to Knysna either later this afternoon or tomorrow morning to assist with firefighting efforts in the area.

He will be taking all donations delivered.

“Donations for residents evacuated from their homes and firefighters working to control the blaze will be delivered to various evacuation points identified,” Bruchhausen said.

“Firefighters working around the clock to control the blaze will also benefit from the donations,” he said.

Details: Greenstone Crescent Shopping Centre, Shop 18A, next to Body Flo Gym. The offices will be open until 4pm for donation drop-offs.

Helping the animals

The National Council of SPCAs (NSPCA) on Thursday issued a statement which said it had dispatched their disaster teams early on Thursday morning from Alberton, in Gauteng, to assist animals affected by the devastating fires in the Knysna area in the Western Cape.

The statement read, “Many animals have been left displaced and some severely injured and requiring the intervention of the NSPCA Disaster Teams. The aftermath of such devastating fires leaves a trail of destruction. Displaced animals need food and water. Severely injured animals need assistance. Animals suffering from burns require veterinary assistance and may need to be humanely euthanased to end their suffering if this is extreme and there is no hope of survival.”

The NSPCA said that farm, domestic and wildlife animals have been affected by the “dire” situation and expressed thanks to the George and Mossel Bay SPCAs, stating that the staff have worked tirelessly since Wednesday afternoon to assist animals in danger.

“Unfortunately these SPCAs have been prohibited from entering certain areas to rescue animals as a result of the fires being out of control,” said the NSPCA.

“The George and Mossel Bay SPCAs took in over 60 animals from the Knysna Animal Welfare Society, in order to make space available for other animals to be admitted from surrounding communities affected by the disaster.

“The NSPCA Disaster Teams will assess the situation upon arrival. More Inspectors and Veterinary staff will be deployed to the area if needed.”

– Caxton News Service