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GARDEN ROUTE NEWS AND VIDEOS  - "How do you not get to one family before the fire comes?" This was the burning question asked by the MEC for Agriculture, Economic Development and Tourism, Alan Winde, during a briefing at the Garden Route District Municipality yesterday, 31 October. 

Winde is also the DA's candidate for premier of the province. 

He said visiting the joint operations centre (JOC) felt like déjà vu, since it was a mere 16 months ago that he walked into the same centre during the raging Knysna fires in 2017.

 Winde said it is difficult to fathom how a family could have missed knowing that a fire is on its way. "You can see it [the fire], smell it... it makes a noise. But still, people get caught," he said. 

"Why can we not evacuate people quickly enough?"
He pointed out that communication with the community is jeopardised when cellphone towers go down in a fire. As soon as the towers go down, communication is lost. Winde said this is one of the issues that should be addressed in the aftermath of the disaster. "It happened in Knysna, and now it has happened again," he said. 

"We need to talk to the service providers to find a way to keep communication going." 

Winde also suggested that more fire detectors be made available to families.

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Disaster a cabinet decision
When asked whether the region will be declared a disaster area, Winde said it will have to be approved by the cabinet. He said it is most likely that a decision will be taken within the next two weeks. "The discussions of whether it should be declared have already started during the analysis," said Winde. He confirmed that no monetary value can yet be given for the damage caused by the fire disaster. 

He commended the public and councillors for helping the communities, as well as the 579 firefighters working under gruelling circumstances. "As we were flying in today - we actually flew out towards Knysna and came this way - it's just hundreds of little plumes of smoke coming out everywhere." 

He said the risk remains and cautioned everybody to be vigilant. "For the next few weeks we are going to be under severe pressure, and it is only the start of summer." 

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