To deal with several wildfires in the province, the Western Cape government has approached the National Disaster Management Centre for a Disaster Classification.
This was revealed by Local Government MEC Anton Bredell on Thursday as wildfires continued to burn through parts of the Overstrand District and Cape Wineland Municipality, destroying thousands of hectares of land.
Bredell explains: “A provincial disaster classification will empower the Premier and the Minister of Finance to move funding as and when we need it to sustain our firefighting efforts.”
According to Bredell, the current hot and windy weather conditions, combined with several wildfires burning in the Cape Winelands and Overstrand districts, require a large, coordinated firefighting effort.
Bredell says: “We have the necessary resources available to address the wildfires, but the disaster declaration will give us the ability to coordinate optimally. We are doing everything to protect lives and property.”
Since Monday, there have been fires in Hangklip between Betty’s Bay and Pringle Bay that have destroyed several homes and forced evacuations.
Overstrand municipal manager Dean O’Neill reported yesterday that the fire in Hangklip has flared up again.
O’Neill says: “The municipality is responding with aerial resources in addition to the ground teams.
“Residents are requested to remain vigilant, and an evacuation order has been issued to residents on Caesar Road and surrounding areas.”
In the Cape Winelands District Municipality (CWDM), fire services and various teams spent an anxious night monitoring and battling multiple fires in Rawsonville, Worcester and Wolseley, that have been burning for nine consecutive days.
Spokesperson for the CWDM, Jo-Anne Otto, says over 30 000 hectares of land have already been destroyed.
Otto says: “The hot weather impacts our firefighting ability to fight the fire, it’s hot, and there are real dangers of dehydration and heat exhaustion.”