Cape Town - A vegetation fire in the Witzenberg Valley that threatened agricultural land currently being harvested has been contained.
This, as SANParks said the fire that broke out on Monday along Boyes Drive has also been contained.
The Cape Winelands District Municipality's (CWDM) Fire Services said the wildfire, beyond the Gydo Pass just above the Witzenberg Valley, was contained on Tuesday afternoon.
“The CWDM Fire Services activated the choppers Whiskey and Tango from Henley Air and the Black Hawk and Huey from the Provincial Disaster Management Centre.
“Together with the four ground teams from NCC and the six vehicles and crew from CWDM, this response proved to be a successful approach.
“All air support returned to their bases at around 10.45am. The four ground teams will stay on the line and continue with monitoring and mopping-up operations.
“Several extenuating factors were considered before deploying the four helicopters, six vehicles and the four equipped ground teams to this fire.
“These included: the effect of the predicted temperatures on ground crews and the possibility of fatigue, heat stroke and dehydration and the proximity of agricultural land currently being harvested.
“The very hot temperatures, predicted to be in the region of 40ºC is cause for concern as flare-ups are more likely in these conditions,” the CWDM said.
Meanwhile, SANParks reported on its social media platforms that the Boyes Drive fire has been contained.
“The pilots have returned to base, whereas the NCC Environmental Services Newlands crews will remain on scene, conducting mop-up operations throughout the evening to ensure flare-ups and hot spots are put out.
“Well done to the fire management team, firefighters, and pilots of the Working on Fire programme,” they said.
Cape Times