WESTERN CAPE NEWS - December marked the beginning of the summer fire season in the Western Cape and the Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries’ Working on Fire (WOF) assisted in suppressing 16 fires, with only four in the Southern Cape.
This is a huge decline compared to December 2019, when WOF dispatched teams 107 times to 25 fires, 15 of which were in the Southern Cape.
In the first three days of January 2021, WOF teams assisted in fighting six fires, with False Bay getting a fire call on 1 January at the Wolfgat Nature Reserve, behind properties in Mitchells Plain. The fire was aggressively attacked and the team, alongside Cape Town city’s firefighters, quickly contained the fire.
WOF Western Cape General Manager Melany Duthie-Surtie says the unpredictable weather system causes heavy winds and high temperatures. “The communities should play a role in reporting fires to the closest local fire stations. We have a collaboration with fire stations, fire protection associations and conservation agencies and we all work together in battling these blazes.”
LISTEN: WOF Western Cape General Manager Melany Duthie-Surtie
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