Firefighting efforts continued in parts of the Western Cape on Thursday with municipalities stating the hard work was not over.
The Overberg municipality is bracing for another day of firefighting while mopping up operations continued further up the coast.
Both the Mossel Bay and Overberg municipalities held briefings late on Thursday night to update their communities of the day’s events and plan for Friday’s possibilities.
Weather forecasts for the Overberg region suggest difficult conditions to come, with Mossel Bay reporting that “all flanks are covered” as of Thursday night.
Pearly Beach fire
As of 8pm on Thursday, roughly 37 000 hectares of land had been affected by the fire north west of Cape Agulhas.
This included areas from Pearly Beach to Wolvengat, extending to areas near Bredasdorp and as far north as Standford and Salmonsdam.
The fire also spread in the Agulhas National Park where structure protection measures were successfully implemented.
The municipality stated that limited containment had been reached but that heavy smoke and wind made the use of aerial resources difficult.
“Valiant efforts by landowners managed to limit damages. We are awaiting feedback from the farmers, including Beloftebos to report their damages.
“We are expecting the fire to grow in size due to a forecasted wind direction change that will push the active lines back to unburnt areas,” the municipality stated.
The area was still on high alert and the municipality asked residents to check their routes before leaving as many roads were unsafe for travel.
Mossel Bay fire
The wind picked up near Mossel Bay on Thursday, causing several flare-ups, although less than the previous evening.
The municipality’s Thursday evening briefing stated that fires had been stopped in Hartenbos, Renosterbos, Hewels, Sonskynvallei and Num Num.
“By the final briefing today, all running fire lines have been stopped and active mopping up operations continued,” the municipality stated.
The area affected totalled 23 km2 but no structural or property loss had been reported since 6 January.
However, all emergency personnel are still in a state of readiness and the weather is being monitored constantly.
At least 70 firefighters were on the ground as of Thursday night, with two helicopters assisting from the air and a bulldozer assisting with fire breaks.
No evacuations had taken place for over 36 hours, no injuries had been reported on Thursday and neighbouring municipalities had been assisting with additional water resources.
“Municipal traffic and law enforcement officials are deployed and will implement access control as needed,” the municipality concluded.
