Simon's Town fire: No damage to property yet, but wind threat remains

The fire on the slopes of Simon's Town continues to rage, three days later, with hundreds of firefighters — including four helicopters and a spotter plane — still battling it out and water-bombing the inferno. 

On Thursday afternoon the City of Cape Town’s fire and rescue services said there was no immediate threat to property, even though strong winds continued to be a threat. 

The wind speed was forecast to be about 40km/h in Simon's Town on Thursday. 

Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson Jermaine Carelse said the area affected by fire had since been divided into five sections to aid and provide a “clearer picture of the hot spot areas and the number of resources on scene”. 

The strong winds of about 40km per hour hampered firefighting efforts, he said. 

“The southern peninsula is prone to wind. Our experience over the past two days has been that the wind increases in speed as the day progresses, and the outlook currently is that this pattern will likely continue.”

Carelse said there was no immediate threat to property, but strong winds continue to be a threat. 

“To date, only a single derelict building was damaged on Tuesday evening at around 8pm on the grounds of the SA Navy. At the moment, there is no immediate danger to properties. However, as is the nature of massive vegetation fires, the situation can change at any moment, depending on wind speed and direction.” 

On Thursday afternoon fire crews battled out the fire, preventing it from spreading to nearby properties and holiday resorts such as Miller's Point, Castle Rock and Rocklands Farm, and to Dorian Place and Victory Road, while ground crews from Table Mountain National Park, Volunteer Wildfire Services, NCC Wildfires and Working on Fire were assisting with hand tools.

“The wind is still playing a major role in efforts to contain this fire However, with the aerial support and the number of ground crews, positive inroads are being made. Three aerial support crafts are still busy with active water bombing,” said Carelse. 

The fire, first reported on Tuesday, resulted in five firefighters sustaining injuries on Wednesday, two of whom were taken to hospital.  

Five support aircraft were activated at first light on Thursday, including a Black Hawk helicopter that can fly in high winds. 

Since the fire started, about 30–40 households were evacuated as a precautionary measure.

Carelse said over 300 operational staff from the city’s rescue services had been deployed since Tuesday, in addition to volunteer teams. The cause of the fire remains unknown.  

"[We] remain hopeful that the fire can be contained soon, but unfortunately, we have no control over factors like the wind,” said Carelse.

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