Emergency services including CapeNature, the City of Cape Town, and the Greater Overberg Fire Protection Association (goFPA) responded to two separate uncontained veldfires that ripped through steep mountain terrain across municipal boundaries over the weekend.
Both blazes – the Sanctuary Peak/Kogel Bay fire and the Somersfontein/Solva fire near Grabouw – are believed to have been ignited by lightning strikes.
Firefighting crews faced significant operational hurdles as a result of the rugged, steep and largely inaccessible mountain slopes, which have limited direct ground attacks. Despite these challenges, strategic deployments and a welcome bout of overnight rain on Saturday (26 September) helped ground teams gain ground in key areas.
The Kogel Bay fire initially flared within the boundaries of the Overstrand Municipality before advancing along the mountain slopes. By Saturday evening, the advancing flames crossed into the City of Cape Town’s municipal boundary below Steenbras Dam.
Because the steep gradient made the fire line unreachable for ground teams, the City deployed its specialised drone unit to conduct thermal assessment and provide real-time aerial intelligence on the advancing front.
Additional resources deployed
Overnight, crews worked tirelessly along the coastal pass to prevent the fire line from breaching the roadway. Thanks to these efforts, Clarence Drive (R44) between Gordon’s Bay and Rooiels was safely reopened to morning traffic on Sunday (27 September).
JP Smith, Mayoral Committee member for Safety and Security, said primary operational control has been handed over to the Strand Fire Station, with support from Sir Lowry’s Pass Fire Station.
“Additional resources have been positioned in the area and are ready to deploy should circumstances change rapidly,” Smith said on Sunday, emphasising that emergency personnel remain on high alert.
Further inland in the Grabouw area, firefighters battling the Somersfontein/Solva fire received much-needed relief from overnight rainfall.
At a Sunday morning operational briefing with affected landowners, updates confirmed that precipitation had assisted crews in containing roughly 70% of the perimeter. CapeNature and specialised NCC Wildfires teams were deployed to consolidate protective “farm lines” and secure agricultural boundaries.
By Monday (28 September), active burning persisted in four-year-old veld near the Steenbras Dam catchment and in the deep wilderness zone stretching between Grabouw and Betty’s Bay.
As a result of the dense brush and extreme terrain, ground vehicles and landowners patrolled accessible perimeter lines while teams attempted to launch reconnaissance drones into the interior to evaluate active hotspots.
Authorities confirmed that no formal evacuation or public safety warnings were issued for surrounding communities.
