KOUGA – Gift of the Givers teams have been deployed to the Kouga Municipal District following a request from the municipality to assist with multiple severe and uncontrollable fires burning across the region.
Gift of the Givers founder, Doctor Imtiaz Sooliman, said three major fires are currently active, including one in the Koukamma area, another between St Francis Bay and Paradise Beach, and a third between Kabeljous and Jeffreys Bay.
“The areas affected include Zwartenbosch in the direction of Hankey near the poultry farm, Oyster Bay Road, the Kromme River and Riverside, the Kabeljous River behind the Nature’s Valley Private Game Reserve, and Smithfield,” said Sooliman.
Residents in these areas have been urged to evacuate. “The situation is highly risky and dangerous,” Sooliman said.
He said the scale of the emergency requires coordinated action. “A collaborative effort between municipalities, disaster management, emergency services, firefighters, SAPS, farmers, civil society organisations and the community is the only way to succeed,” he said.
Sooliman said Kouga Municipality has requested the urgent deployment of a water-bomber helicopter. “The situation is too risky for the 65 firefighters on the ground to intervene decisively without air support,” he said.
Gift of the Givers is engaging with helicopter companies to source a suitable aircraft. Sooliman said the response is further strained by major fires elsewhere. “The situation is compounded by the huge fires in Mossel Bay, the Overberg region and Elim, where winds are devastating at 70 knots. Our teams are involved in all these areas,” he said.
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He said a water tanker has been dispatched from Adelaide to the Kouga region, while Gift of the Givers is providing water in Zoar, Ladismith and parts of Knysna, and has received a request from Plettenberg Bay. “Our teams are supporting firefighters with energy drinks, biscuits and meals,” Sooliman said.
Farmers are supported with fuel to drive their water pumps, and evacuated residents are assisted in shelters that can be traced.
The fires have also caused electricity failures at multiple substations, affecting water infrastructure. Kouga Local Municipality said it had been informed by Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality that power supply to the Churchill and Impofu Dams had been disrupted.
“Due to the ongoing fires, the power supply to both the Churchill and Impofu Dams has been disrupted, resulting in a complete shutdown of all water production,” the municipality said.
“As a result, the municipality will not be receiving any water from any of the offtakes. This development will have a severe impact on our available water resources,” the municipality said.
“With immediate effect, water supply will be significantly throttled back in order to retain as much water as possible for emergency use only,” the municipality said.
“Residents and visitors are urged to reduce water consumption to the absolute minimum during this critical period,” the municipality said.
Sooliman said bottled water would be required until systems are restored. “The shutdown of the Churchill and Impofu pumps has essentially terminated water supply in these districts,” he said. “Bottled water is going to be mandatory until the systems can be fixed.”
He said water-bomber helicopters would be critical to reduce risk and allow further intervention. “Daybreak is going to be essential for decisive intervention,” Sooliman said.
