Page 20 - Wildfire Services News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

WATCH: Evacuations under way in Vredehoek as strong winds fan Table Mountain fire By IOL Reporter Share Cape Town - Vredehoek residents in the City Bowl began evacuating their homes early this morning as strong winds picked up at about 2am and keep fanning a fire that started at about 8.45am yesterday and has razed iconic Cape Town landmarks. City of Cape Town Disaster Risk Management spokesperson Charlotte Powell confirmed that evacuations were under way, with Fire and Rescue vehicles on the scene as the wind speed is predicted to increase throughout the morning. In Vredehoek, Chelmsford Roa...

Additional reporting by Victoria O’Regan Efforts to contain the out-of-control wildfire that erupted on Table Mountain on Sunday morning at around 8.45 continued throughout the night. The unforgiving inferno – suspected by the Table Mountain National Park to have been ignited by an unattended vagrant fire – burnt down a restaurant at Rhodes Memorial and damaged multiple buildings at the University of Cape Town (UCT) campus, including the library. Efforts continue to contain a vegetation fire in the mountain above UCT. The City of Cape Town is engaging in active firefighting efforts alon...

The Cape Town fires continued to spread overnight, aided by gravely timed south-easter winds in the Mother City. The raging flames have now become a threat to the Vredehoek community, and a number of suburbs have been evacuated. Meanwhile, senior police officials have confirmed that a man has been arrested on suspicion of arson. What areas of Cape Town have been evacuated? The developments on Monday morning come in the wake of untold destruction. Although there has been no loss of life from this all-consuming blaze – a testament to the work done by firefighting teams so far – local landma...

Within 24 hours, the fire that started around Rhodes Memorial spread to UCT’s upper campus and moved to Vredehoek, said JP Smith, mayoral committee member for safety and security in a statement.  According to another City of Cape Town statement, at about 2am the wind speed increased, pushing the fire in that direction. Conditions deteriorated overnight, with the wind picking up and fanning the flames, Anton Bredell, the provincial minister of local government, environmental affairs and development planning, said at 8am. A flare up right behind the Disa Park Towers, fueled by super strong w...

Cape Town fire: residents urged to avoid City Bowl and work from home Share Cape Town: “It is going to be a very tough day and we urge the public to work with the emergency responders and the authorities.” This was the call from Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning MEC Anton Bredell who delivered an update on the Rhodes Memorial firefighting efforts. The wildfire that broke out early on Sunday morning spread overnight towards the Devils Peak Estate/Vredehoek area of the Cape Town city bowl. Some areas were evacuated in the early hours of the morning as a preca...