Rédaction Africa Links 24 with Africanews
Published on 2024-01-31 10:25:54
Residents were forced to evacuate small coastal towns near Cape Town in South Africa due to out-of-control wildfires that swept down from surrounding mountains for a second day on Tuesday. This included the full evacuation of Pringle Bay, a popular coastal village about 80 kilometers from Cape Town, as well as parts of the nearby town of Betty’s Bay on Monday.
Although wildfires are relatively common in the mountain ranges around Cape Town and down the coast in the South African summer, it is unusual for entire towns to be completely evacuated.
The fires, which began on Monday, were exacerbated by the hot, dry weather and strong coastal winds. Annelie Rabie, the mayor of the Overstrand municipality, stated that as many as six wildfires had broken out in the area, with four being contained or extinguished, but one heading straight for Pringle Bay. The fires resulted in a small number of homes being destroyed, but no injuries were reported. A ‘code red’ was issued, signaling a serious and immediate danger to people and property.
Approximately 95% of a nearby nature reserve had also burned, and residents of Pringle Bay were relocated to a nearby town while firefighters worked to control the remaining fires. Helicopters were utilized to scoop up water from the ocean and dump it on the fires, a common tactic in the region.
Wildfires have been reported in various parts of South Africa’s Western Cape province in recent weeks, including one on the slopes of Table Mountain overlooking Cape Town, as well as in four other regions where firefighting crews were working to control the blazes. The main causes of the wildfires, according to the Western Cape local government, are discarded cigarettes, cooking fires, burning debris, and sometimes arson, with coastal winds exacerbating and making the fires unpredictable.
