South Africa – Page 3 – Wildfire Today

Helicopter pilot killed in crash in South Africa

The South African Police Service issued the following statement about the firefighting helicopter pilot that died in the line of duty while working on a fire Saturday, March 7:

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“Western Cape Provincial Commissioner, Lieutenant General Arno Lamoer has conveyed his sincere condolences on the passing of Colonel Hendricks Willem Marais who died when his helicopter crashed while water bombing a fire in the Cape Point Nature Reserve.

Colonel Marais worked as the first unit commander of the South African Police Service’ Airwing in Cape Town. He retired in 2004 at the age of 60. His former colleagues described him as a remarkable human being who was always prepared to help others. Colonel Marais was sworn in to the SAPS in 1990.

Lt General Lamoer remembers Col Marais as a pilot with strong work ethic, who was dedicated to his work. “He was affectionately called Bees and trained a number of police members with the Airwing environment. What an incredible human being he was. You could not miss his positive spirit. Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife, family and colleagues. He will be sorely missed. On behalf of the SAPS family we say may his Soul rest in peace.”

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Our sincere condolences go out to Colonel’s family and co-workers.

South Africa firefighter killed in vehicle accident

From iol Mobile, March 6, 2015:

“Cape Town – A young firefighter from the West Coast District Municipality died on Thursday when the fire truck he drove left the road and plunged down the side of the Dasklip Pass.

Nazeem Davies, 25, from Worcester, was on his way back to the Vredenburg station from the Winterhoek Mountains, near Porterville, where he and his colleagues had helped put out a fire.

West Coast District Municipality spokesman Kallie Willemse said Davies and a colleague, Niklaas Nel, were on their way back to Vreden.

Nel escaped with slight injuries, but the truck hit a large boulder on the way down, which stopped it but crushed the truck to the point where hydraulic jaws had to be used to extricate Davies’ body from the wreck.”

Our sincere condolences go out to the firefighter’s co-workers and family.

fatality lodd South Africa

Fires force 500 to evacuate in South Africa

Muizenberg Fire in South Africa Tuesday night. Photo by Clint Sutton.

About 500 people were forced to evacuate as fires near Cape Town, South Africa burned for a fourth day on Wednesday. Firefighters said a small amount of rain did not have any significant effect on the 12,000-acre blaze that started on March 1. There are no reported fatalities, but 52 people from an old-age home had to be treated for smoke inhalation. Homes, offices, historic wine farms and a hotel lodge were damaged or destroyed.

An excerpt from an article at Blolomberg:

While some fires have been contained, they continue to burn in the Lakeside, Constantia Valley and Clovelly areas and are expected to take until the end of the week to extinguish, according to city officials and Working on Fire, the national fire management agency. Six helicopters and two planes dumped 2.2 million liters (580,000 gallons) of water in more than 2,000 drops, helping to stop the spread of flames in areas inaccessible to fire-fighting crews and their vehicles. Helicopters were grounded in the late afternoon on Wednesday due to strong wind and poor visibility.

An excerpt from an article at News24:

[Wednesday] morning, the City of Cape Town’s Fire Safety Division conducted a survey to determine exactly how many properties have been affected since the fire started in the early hours of Sunday 1 March 2015 above Boyes Drive in Muizenberg.

Staff have confirmed that 13 properties have been affected, including the Tintswalo Lodge at the foot of Chapman’s Peak. Three of the properties have been completely destroyed: two in Constantia and one in Noordhoek.

The video below shows a pretty cool fire whirl. I would not call it a “fire tornado”, or “firenado”, as some are. THIS is a firenado.

Map fires near Cape Town, South Africa — Map showing heat produced by wildfires near Cape Town, South Africa March 3, 2015

The six photos below were taken by Clint Sutton on Tuesday. Thanks Clint.

firenado South Africa

More photos of the fire near Cape Town, SA

Here are more photos of the wildfire near Cape Town, South Africa.

South Africa

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.

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!