Thick smoke clouds could be seen as far as Somerset West and Villiersdorp as the fire that started in the Hemel-en-Aarde on Sunday morning continues to rage out of control.
Crews from Overstrand Fire and Rescue, Overberg District Municipality Fire Services and Volunteer Wildfire Services (VWS) were joined on Monday by teams from Working on Fire, Greater Overberg Fire Protection Association (goFPA) and Leading Edge Aviation.
Aerial resources were also called in on Monday morning to assist with efforts to bring the blaze in the mountains in the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley under control. Overstrand Municipal Manager Dean O’Neill reported that the aerial resources dropped the first bucket of water at 10:00 on Monday (18 November).
O’Neill confirmed that although a SMS was distributed to residents in the immediate vicinity of the fire on Monday morning at 09:15, to be on standby for possible evacuation efforts there was no immediate threat to properties at that stage. With regard to the fire burning in the mountains above Kidbrooke and Chanteclair on Tuesday, O’Neill assured residents that the municipality would issue any evacuation order timeously.
Residents are urged to remain vigilant and report any emergencies because of changing conditions to the Emergency Control Room at 028 312 2400.
On Monday afternoon the municipality confirmed that the fire had spread over the ridge of the mountain in the direction of Karwyderskraal. Crews fought hard throughout the night to protect structures on Belsvlei Farm. As at 05:00 on Tuesday there was no damage reported or structures lost. Firefighting vehicles worked along the fire line with a VWS ground team with great success.
The objective for Tuesday, said O’Neill, was to extinguish the fire in Division A above Chanteclair. Aerial resources were expected to arrive in the area at 08:30 to assist with the firefighting efforts.
Residents of Hawston also expressed concerns on social media about the smoke and flames creeping towards the neighbourhood on the mountain’s side of the R43 on Tuesday.
O’Neill cautioned the public against flying drones in the areas where fires are raging as it may affect the aerial operations negatively. “Any information on who are flying the drones is welcomed and will be treated confidentially. The perpetrators will be dealt with the full might of the law. Please allow the fire teams to continue fighting the fire by not interfering in their operations.”
Residents are urged not to drive in the Valley unnecessarily, as it can hamper the response efforts of emergency vehicles. Official updates regarding the status of the fire will be communicated via the official Overstrand media pages and posted on the goFPA media as well.
Residents of the Overstrand are urged to report any sign of smoke to the Emergency Control Room on 028 312 2400. Residents of other areas within the Overberg can contact ODM Fire Services on 028 425 1690 or Greater Overberg FPA on 063 690 7899.
