File photo: Armand Hough File photo: Armand Hough
Cape Town – The City of Cape Town’s Fire and Rescue service fought a fire raging on the slopes of a mountain in Hout Bay on Wednesday.
Fire and Rescue spokesperson Theo Layne said the service responded to a fire in Dolphin Road, Hout Bay harbour, where an extensive area of mountain slope was on fire.
Six fire engines, two water tankers, 40 firefighters and 60 seasonal firefighters were on scene to douse the flames.
Layne said the fire was burning on the upper slopes of the mountain and was mostly inaccessible to conventional fire-fighting methods and vehicles.
Three helicopters water-bombed the area that was inaccessible to ground crews. The cause of the fire was unknown and there was no immediate danger to property. The fire was fanned by a south-easterly wind.
In other incidents, Layne said the service responded to a fire on Signal Hill on Tuesday.
Four fire engines and four water tankers with 24 firefighters battled an extensive vegetation fire assisted by Table Mountain National Parks with ground crew and three helicopters.
“The fire, fanned by a very strong south-easterly wind, posed no immediate danger to property, and the cause of the fire is undetermined,” said Layne.
On Monday, a fire in Pringle Bay led to families being evacuated from 50 homes; one property was severely damaged while two others were partially damaged.