Firemen let Boland blaze run

2006-02-02 17:53

Cape Town - Firefighters have been withdrawn from a blaze in the Boland in the hope that the fire will burn itself out, Working on Fire said on Thursday afternoon.

Three Working on Fire teams, supported by waterbombing helicopters, had been battling the flames in a 30km/h north-easterly wind and 40°C heat, said spokesperson Val Charlton.

"They can't fight it, they've withdrawn from the line," she said just after 16:00.

The fire started on a farm south east of Wolseley on Wednesday afternoon and has already burnt hundreds of hectares of orchards, vineyards, alien vegetation, forestry area and fynbos, as well as a farm stall and a storage shed.

Charlton said the natural vegetation the fire was burning in higher-lying areas was twenty-year-old fynbos, which meant a high fuel load, though the burn would be of benefit to the fynbos, which needs periodic regeneration through fire.

'Wattle jungle'

In the lower areas there was a lot of "wattle jungle" - stands of alien vegetation that made firefighting difficult.

The three teams had been withdrawn to rest, and firefighters were hoping that the wind would change on Thursday night and drive the fire towards an area that had been burnt previously.

The helicopters had also stood down, but she was sure that if any property was threatened they would be reactivated.

"But at the moment the wisest course of action is to let it burn," she said.

The Overberg town of Napier was shrouded in smoke on Thursday afternoon as the fire which has been raging in the area for three days burned towards it.

"We're totally enveloped in smoke," said local farmer George de Kock, speaking from the agricultural co-op in the town.

- SAPA