Cape fires stretching resources to the limit
2013-01-29 17:00
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Veld fires have broken out across the Western Cape. See alll the pictures.
Cape Town – An additional 214 firefighters were dispatched on
Tuesday to help put out blazing fires across the Western Cape.
The teams from the Free State, Mpumalanga, Northern Cape and
Kwa-Zulu Natal are expected to arrive early on Wednesday and will be deployed
where needed.
Earlier on Tuesday, around 125 firefighters were deployed
from the Eastern Cape and the Free State.
The Western Cape currently has over 600 firefighters across
the whole region, although not all can be redeployed to other areas.
"The main priority is to ensure the safety of resident and property,"
Western Cape Disaster Risk Management Centre spokesperson Colin Deiner said.
The fires are concentrated over four areas of concern: The
West Coast (Clanwilliam, Cederberg), Cape Winelands (Wemmershoek, Paarl), around
Uniondale and Tulbagh.
"Our resources are stretched to the limit," Working on Fire spokesperson
Linton Rensburg told News24.
He said that a code red had been declared meaning that the
group would deploy all necessary resources to fight the blaze.
"The major concern is in the Franschhoek area," said
Rensburg.
The Cederberg and Franschhoek areas have been affected the
worst by the blazes, with the fire in the Cederberg raging for the past 13
days.
A fire on the Cederberg mountain was contained earlier on
Tuesday, with firefighters hoping it would not flare up again.
Meanwhile, volunteer teams were also working around the
clock to help put out the fires.
"We're working damn hard to put this fire out," Patrick
Ryan, Volunteer wildlife services’ spokesperson told News24.
