Cape Town - The City’s Fire and Rescue Services supported by the Table Mountain National Parks (TMNP) and the Western Cape’s Working On Fire (WOF) firefighters responded to a vegetation fire in the Noordhoek Wetlands near Lake Michelle.
The fire, which was reported around 4pm on Tuesday, was brought under control just before reaching the area’s residential area.
The City’s Fire and Rescue Services, supported by the Table Mountain National Parks (TMNP) and the Western Cape’s Working On Fire (WOF), managed to bring the blaze under control just before it reached a residential area.
City Fire and Rescue Services spokesperson Jermaine Carelse said: “The City’s Fire and Rescue Services received a call about reeds alight in the wetlands in Noordhoek at about 2.19 pm on Tuesday.
“70 firefighters and 14 firefighting appliances were dispatched to the scene. Firefighting crews also requested for two helicopters to water bomb the area, which saw the flames extinguished at 5pm.
“The cause of the fire is unknown, and no property was damaged in the incident.”
TMNP spokesperson Lauren Clayton confirmed that the TMNP’s Newlands crew was dispatched to assist the City in extinguishing the blaze, with 30 firefighters sent to the scene.
WOF spokesperson Limakatso Khalianyane said WOF had deployed two helicopters and a spotter plane to assist in extinguishing the flames.
The City’s Fire and Rescue Services also responded to another disastrous incident, in Woodstock, where a MyCiTi bus had caught fire.
Mayco member for urban mobility Rob Quintas said: “At around 3.15pm yesterday, the City was informed that a MyCiTi bus had caught fire at the Woodstock MyCiTi station.
“We can confirm that nobody was injured and that an investigation is under way to determine the causes.”
Quintas said initial reports of the incident indicated that the bus had burnt out, causing damage to the station, shortly after all of the passengers, including the driver, had disembarked.
He said: “This was an exceptional incident, and we need to establish what were the causes by conducting a proper investigation. MyCiTi buses are serviced, inspected and maintained regularly.”
MyCiTi buses travelling along the T01 route will be temporarily deviated until further notice.
Meanwhile, in the Cape Winelands district municipality (CWDM) fire services also had their hands busy, responding to a fire in Klapmuts on the N1, close to Stellenbosch.
CWDM spokesperson Jo-Anne Otto said: “The fire started close to the train station but moved rapidly towards the Paarl road from where it jumped the N1 on to the Paarl side.
“Aerial resources, ground teams, equipment and personnel from CWDM, FPA and the Stellenbosch and Drakenstein municipalities were dispatched to the scene – houses, livestock and farmlands were in jeopardy.”