After an alert was issued for extreme wildfire warnings on Tuesday February 25, a fire broke out on Du Toitskloof, a 40 minute drive from Paarl.
Firefighters from Cape Nature’s NCC have been working in teams to put out the fire, which continues to burn out of control.
At around 5pm on Tuesday, NCC issued a news alert on their Facebook page regarding the fire. They mobilised their Alpha and Bravo teams to put out the flames, they were then replaced the next morning by Charlie and Delta crews.
“A large part of the fire line is high up in the inaccessible crags. Fresh ground crews will be trooped in by chopper this morning to relieve those who been on the accessable fire line since yesterday morning,” said NCC.
“The wind subsided during the night, which allowed the ground crews to make a little headway. However the fire services have expressed concern as very strong wind has been predicted for later today which may hamper aerial support efforts.”
The NCC teams were also supported by Working on Fire’s Limietberg team. The cause of the fires have not been determined.
“We need an investigator to determine cause and origin. All we try and do is put them out,” said NCC in a reply to a query on their page.
The N1 as well as both tunnels are open to traffic.
Pictures: NCC/ Facebook
Featured image: Working on Fire/ Twitter
