Anton Bredell, the Western Cape’s minister of local government, environmental affairs and development planning, has called for public cooperation with firefighters battling wildfires across the province.
Regarding the Castle Rock fire, Bredell assured the public of a coordinated response, stressing that evacuation orders, if necessary, would be issued well in advance.
‘Our officials will request residents well in advance if they need to evacuate, and all firefighting decisions being made have the safety of the public as their number one priority,’ he said.
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Bredell highlighted the unified approach across various organisations, including Working on Fire, Volunteer Wildfire Services, NCC Environmental Services, the City of Cape Town and SANParks.
These teams have worked tirelessly, especially with aerial water bombing, since the fire’s outbreak.
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Meanwhile, the Cape Winelands District Municipality (CWDM) has confronted multiple wildfires, including a challenging fire near the Berg River Dam, Franschhoek and a contained fire in Du Toit’s Kloof, Paarl, where crews are managing hot spots and flare-ups.
The Western Cape Government has allocated R16 million for this wildfire season. Bredell emphasised the significant impact of human actions on wildfire occurrences, noting that less than 3% are natural.
‘The other 97% is caused either intentionally (25%) or through negligence (72%),’ he said, and he urged the public to report fires promptly to enhance control efforts.
‘Experience over many years has taught us that the faster the initial response, the better our chances are of successfully controlling a fire before it spirals out of control.’
The contact numbers for reporting fires are as follows:
- City of Cape Town: 107 or 021 480 7700 from a cell phone
- Overberg: 028 425 1690
- West Coast: 022 433 8700
- Garden Route: 044 805 5071
- Central Karoo: 023 414 2603
- Cape Winelands: 021 887 4446
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Picture: City of Cape Town / Facebook