Cape Doctor helps firefighters
2012-01-25 20:45
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2012-01-19 12:55
Cape Town Mayor Patricia De Lille visited Khayelitsha Fire Station to thank the staff for their outstanding work in responding to fires.WATCH
Cape Town - A fire that started in the Tygerberg Nature Reserve in Plattekloof on Wednesday morning has been extinguished, the Cape Town fire department said.
"We don't know how it started but guys at the Goodwood station saw the fire on the hill and immediately left to deal with it," spokesperson Mark Bosch said.
He said fire trucks and two helicopters arrived on the scene shortly after 11:00 to assist. The fire was extinguished before noon.
"From where I am looking now it doesn't even look as if there was a fire. The vegetation seems to be fine."
Bosch said the south-easterly wind, commonly known as the Cape Doctor, assisted firefighters by blowing the fire away from houses.
The reserve holds the most endangered vegetation in the Cape floral kingdom, known as Renosterveld, which is prone to fires and largely threatened by farming because its soil is fertile.
The vegetation contains rare and endangered plants and animals, including the Cape dwarf chameleon, the Spinnekopblom, and the geometric tortoise.
- SAPA
