Update
GARDEN ROUTE NEWS - A report issued by the Garden Route DM JOC
DE VLUGT (North of De Vlugt)
Evacuations at De Vlugt are coordinated on the ground by Mr Mark Bosch and Mr Deon Van Wyk. Cellular signals continue to be an issue, hampering feedback from ground teams. SANDF Oryx has been deployed to assist with battling the wildfire.
RHEENDENDAL FIRE
The fire passed the northern side of the community thanks to a change in wind direction - evacuations have been placed on hold. The fire passed the Bibbies Hoek area as well. The Kraaibosch area near Rheenendal is a cause for concern as the wildfire is approaching it. Power lines have made it difficult for aircraft to bomb the fire lines as bombers had to unload water at a higher than usual altitude.
Valley and mountainous areas created microclimate conditions, which have led to ever-changing wind-directions. This is hampering fire fighting activities. In addition, the Incident Management Team found that an indigenous forest in the area could not fully block the fire as expected.
KRAAIBOSCH
If wind direction stays as is, the area could be less of a concern. Black wattle and other invasive alien plants pose a major threat due to it burning at an extremely high intensity. Infrastructure in this area could be at risk if the wind direction should change.
KEERHOEK (on edge of Rheenendal, informal settlement)
People have been evacuated. Adequate resources are on the scene is to protect people and infrastructure.
Luvain- Fire contained, resources monitoring for flare-ups GRDM Crews
Waboomskraal Lodge - Fire is contained, resources monitoring for flare-ups
Glenbarrie - Fire is contained, resources monitoring for flare-ups
Denneoord - Fire is contained, resources monitoring for flare-ups
Saasveld - Fire is contained, resources monitoring for flare-ups
Seven Passes - Fire is contained, resources monitoring for flare-ups
Uniondale - Fire is contained, resources monitoring for flare-ups
Jonkersberg Fire - This fire is inaccessible and will continue burning up the mountain. This fire entered the Jonkersberg area after a wildfire spread via the west side of the Outeniqua Pass.
The area is inaccessible, therefore active firefighting in this area will only commence once the wildfire reaches an area accessible to ground teams.
SAPS have to be complimented - they confirmed a lot of information and have been a valuable component to accurate synopsis of the situation in especially the Rheenendal and Karatara areas.
'We bring you the latest Garden Route, Hessequa, Karoo news'
