GARDEN ROUTE NEWS - "The Mossel Bay wildfires were fuelled by extremely strong winds and moved through the area like a cheetah across the veld. Homes were reduced to rubble and the residents were left with nothing."
These were the observations of a local firefighter who worked alongside the Mossel Bay Fire and Rescue Services to combat the severe blaze in the Aalwyndal, Island View and Vakansieplaas areas.
This major vegetation fire forced evacuations - some for a second time yesterday morning, 7 January, following some flare-ups in Aalwyndal. Another vegetation fire also broke out on the R327 towards Herbertsdale.
A joint operations centre (JOC) remains active to co-ordinate the ongoing response.
The N2 between the Langeberg Mall off-ramp and Dana Bay was temporarily closed on Tuesday due to heavy smoke and dangerously poor visibility. The road was reopened to traffic early on Wednesday morning.
Fire crews from Mossel Bay, the Garden Route District Municipality, the Hessequa Municipality and volunteer services had battled the blaze overnight on Tuesday. While the fire was not yet contained by early Wednesday, the teams worked on fire lines and closely monitored the weather conditions, particularly the wind.
"The fire in Mossel Bay was devastating," said the firefighter, who wished to remain anonymous. "It was driven by strong winds and prolonged dry conditions. You often feel helpless and demoralised standing there. Our first priority is always to protect people's property, but when a fire spreads so rapidly in high winds, a double-storey house can be destroyed within five minutes. At that speed, it is extremely difficult to contain flames of that height, but we do everything possible. We feel deeply for the homeowners who lost everything."
Thick clouds of smoke billowed behind some residential property in Aalwyndal on 6 January. Photo: Drone Fanatics
Christo Theron, the senior managing director of Firstcare Wildfire Support - a private volunteer firefighting organisation based in George - said he and his team worked a gruelling 12-hour shift alongside the Mossel Bay firefighters in Aalwyndal, from 16:00 on Tuesday until 04:00 on Wednesday morning.
"It was rough. The adrenaline is still pumping," Theron said after returning from the scene yesterday, having managed just two hours of rest. "We're exhausted, but my dogs woke me after two hours of sleep," he added with a laugh.
Theron's team of five firefighters and three skid units played a critical role in protecting residential properties surrounded by fynbos in the Aalwyndal area. "When we arrived, we were right in front of the fire. It's scary," he said. "We moved with the fire, helping to secure properties by spraying water on the vegetation and the flames, doing everything possible to keep it away from the houses."
The George Fire and Disaster Services were officially stood down yesterday morning, and the Mossel Bay Municipality took over further operational updates.
On Tuesday 6 January, the George Municipality deployed a 35 000L water tanker and a skid unit for support. Platoon Commander Henry Ciko and firefighters Nico Rossouw, Joseph Fortuin and Laurent Saaiman assisted with suppression efforts in the difficult terrain.
Three firefighters received medical treatment for smoke inhalation. No other injuries had been reported by Wednesday morning. The authorities urge the public to remain alert as the conditions may rapidly change.
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