The Cape Winelands District Municipality’s Fire Services has confirmed that they are attending to a serious fire on Michell’s Pass outside Ceres in the Western Cape.
Fire teams responded to a blaze on the Witels river side of the pass that was reported at 4:40pm. The fire jumped the Michell’s pass road and the pass is currently closed.
Full ground and aerial support has been deployed.
According to the Cape Winelands District Municipality, they cannot predict when the pass will be re-opened at this stage, however, teams are working hard to facilitate this.
While you may have seen various spellings on social media, Michell’s Pass is frequently misspelt as Mitchell’s Pass and was named after Charles Michell, who planned the original route through the Skurweberg & Witzenberg Mountains from Tulbagh and Wolseley through to Ceres.
He was a talented military engineer, who perhaps gained more fame for his exploits by eloping with the 15-year-old daughter of a French colonel.
Michell went on to become the Surveyor-General for the Colony and designed and built several prominent Cape passes and bridges, and was a major influence in road construction in the Cape, as per Mountain Passes South Africa.
Updates regarding the fire will follow as soon as more information becomes available.
Thank you to the brave firefighters who are working hard to contain the fire.
Have a look at the images here:
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Picture/s: Peter Frost/Getaway/Shared with permission
