Firefighters 'winning the battle'
2005-12-25 21:44
Cape Town - Firefighters appear to be getting control of the brush fire that has been raging in the Melkbosstrand area north of Cape Town since Saturday, city fire chief Piet Smith said at 21:00 on Sunday.
The four helicopters, including two from the SA Air Force, that had been water-bombing the blaze, were called off at 20:00, but ground crews would stay on the job.
The fire earlier threatened a caravan park at the coastal community, and a seniors' home was evacuated as the fire approached, but firefighters managed to save both from the flames.
"We've lost nothing, by the grace..." Smith said. "But we've still got large areas that we're busy extinguishing.
We're slowly winning the battle."
He said there were "continuous flare-ups" on the slopes of Table Mountain above Camps Bay, where a blaze on Saturday destroyed property, but firefighters were patrolling the area and damping down where necessary.
- SAPA