Five homes burn and one firefighter injured in South Africa fire

wildfire Cape Town
Fire near Cape Town, South Africa. Photo by Clint Sutton.

Firefighters in South Africa are battling 14 wildfires. The most troublesome is on Table Mountain near Cape Town where one firefighter was injured when there was an explosion at a structure. “He is stable and will be released probably by Friday,” spokeswoman Liezl Moodie said of the firefighter injured at the beach lodge.

About 150 firefighters are working to bring the fire under control, made worse by sweltering summer temperatures of 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit). The provincial government is planning to bring in 250 additional firefighters from other parts of the country, the South African Press Association reported.

wildfire Cape Town
Fire near Cape Town, South Africa. Photo by Clint Sutton.
wildfire Cape Town
Fire near Cape Town, South Africa. Photo by Clint Sutton.

Clint Sutton, a South African resident who took the three photos above, described the current situation:

We are having some extreme fires on the mountains around here! Started yesterday morning, and now has spread over miles. Over 300 firefighters trying to control them, unfortunately they are spread out in too many areas. Looked like they got it under control, but now some have jumped fire breaks and roads. Houses are too close to survive this. People being evacuated from old age home on the mountain, some of it already burnt down. I used to ride in this forest in the pic. It has huge pine trees, and now the fire has jumped to it! Don’ t know how they’re going to stop it now. Roads are closed everywhere! This is very serious!

Very strong winds last night have made it worse. Wind dropped today, thank goodness!

map Cape Town wildfires
Map, with red dots representing heat detected by a satellite, indicating the location of wildfires south of Cape Town, South Africa.

More photos of the fires.

South Africa Fire
Screen grab from News 24 video.

wildfire Cape Town

wildfire Cape Town

wildfire Cape Town

wildfire Cape Town

South Africa fire

Thanks and a tip of the hat goes out to Kelly.

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Author: Bill Gabbert

After working full time in wildland fire for 33 years, he continues to learn, and strives to be a Student of Fire.