As the City’s Fire & Rescue Services tackled several fires across Cape Town yesterday, including flare-ups at Red Hill, the mountain area above Hangberg in Hout Bay had also caught alight, reports Cape {town} Etc.
In the words of JP Smith in his Facebook post, ‘that wasn’t the only thing that was caught in Hangberg’.
According to Smith, law enforcement officers arrested a male suspect in the Hout Bay area and subsequently opened a case of arson at Cape Town Central SAPS.
Cape {town} Etc has reached out to the City’s law enforcement department for further details.
Meanwhile, fire crews battled overnight to contain the Hangberg fire, which had spread further into the Karbonkelberg mountainous area.
While the fire was largely contained shortly after the mountain fire broke out on Tuesday, it was the steep cliff areas which proved challenging as it could not be safely accessed on foot, nor could it be reached by helicopters, reported Table Mountain National Park (TMNP) Management.
Ground crews spent the rest of the day and night monitoring the situation, stepping in to douse the fire where conditions allowed, with the assistance of aerial resources.
This morning, aerial resources were redeployed to target key hot spots and assist ground crews with mop-up operations ahead of the southwesterly winds expected this afternoon.
Shortly after, TMNP confirmed that the fire was contained this morning.
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Fire outbreak in Nyanga taxi rank gives rise to arson allegations
Picture: JP Smith / Facebook
