Table Mountain National Park (TMNP) has reported a significant increase in fire incidents, recording a total of 34 fires on Table Mountain within a slightly over one-month period.
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Justin Buchmann, the integrated fire manager for TMNP, highlighted a concerning pattern, identifying the Signal Hill area as the current focal point for these occurrences.
The surge in fires occurred between 1 November and 8 December, and Buchmann attributed the majority of these incidents to vagrants.
Remarkably, 97% of the fires were successfully contained within the initial 90 minutes of deploying firefighting teams.
Buchman said,’ The correlation between these incidents and specific days of the week has been ruled out due to the primary cause being vagrancy. Acknowledging this trend, our firefighting contracted crews from NCC Wildfires and the Volunteer Wildfire Services (VWS) are operating at full capacity for the season.’
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In light of the escalating situation, the provincial government has allocated R16 million to combat wildfires in the province.
The Western Cape experiences its fire season from November to May, characterised by hot, dry and windy conditions, prompting heightened vigilance and preparedness during this period.
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