Firefighters are still battling the raging wildfire that broke out on the Lourensford mountain slopes around 16:00 yesterday (8 June).
According to Jermaine Carelse, spokesperson for the City of Cape Town’s Fire and Rescue Services, an extensive area of vegetation is currently still alight.
“The crews worked tirelessly throughout the night and no property is in danger at this stage. Standby personnel have been activated to bring more resources to assist,” says Carelse.
As of 04:00 this morning (Thursday), firefighters grouped into three teams have been managing the incident. A crew is dedicated to monitoring the situation, while another is focused on dousing the fire in areas higher up on the mountain which are difficult to access. The third crew is attending to the fire that jumped to the Cape Winelands District Municipal area, where most resources have been allocated to assist.
“One of the water tankers rolled down an embankment, last night, and the crew had to be treated and transported to hospital – they were subsequently discharged today. Currently, we have 15 firefighting appliances on scene, which includes fire engines, water tankers, bush tenders and skid units with approximately 60 firemen on scene.”
Carelse mentioned that aerial support may be activated this morning and crews will remain on scene throughout the day.
