After 3 days, Cape Town wildfire is 90% contained
Print Edition
Fire crews worked for a third day to extinguish a wildfire on the slopes of Cape Town’s Table Mountain in South Africa as the city came to terms with the damage caused by what officials have described as one of the area’s worst blazes in years.
About 90 percent of the fire had been contained, the National Park authority said yesterday, but only after firefighters worked through the night.
Those firefighters faced “extreme circumstances,” said the Working on Fire organization, which specializes in dealing with wildfires and has been helping the city’s fire department.
The operation on Table Mountain had now reached the “mop-up” stage, Working on Fire said.
Fire-fighting helicopters were dropping water on areas where the fire still smoldered and smoked on the rocky peaks of Table Mountain. South African army choppers had joined the operation to support the fire department after the helicopters were all grounded on Monday because of strong winds. That wind had dropped significantly, but a cloud of thick smoke still hung over the city.
The wildfire started early on Sunday and ripped down and across the slopes of the mountain toward residential areas overlooking downtown Cape Town.
Neighborhoods were evacuated on Monday and people weren’t yet able to return home. Firefighters mostly kept the flames at bay and away from homes — sometimes with just a few meters to spare. Around 250 firefighters were mobilized.
The University of Cape Town campus was one of the first sites to be hit on Sunday and appears to have suffered the most damage. Other historic buildings nearby, including a 225-year-old windmill and a restaurant near a memorial to British colonial politician Cecil Rhodes, also burned down.
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