Table Mountain Fire : " out of control "

[Gunship]

http://www.news24.com/Images/Photos/2005122412463324_fire.jpg

Thinking of the fire-fighters ! Good luck guys ! :ok:

A fire which started in Camps Bay and spread around the side of Table Mountain to Tafelberg road and the cable station is raging out of control, Cape Town metro fire department reported on Saturday afternoon.

Chief fire officer Piet Smith said an appeal has been made to hikers on the nearby mountains to leave the area.

"We have 20 fire ground crew and 16 National Park volunteers assisting at various places to put the fire out.

"About 16 fire appliances including tankers and four helicopters and six water tankers are also being used," said Smith.

He said the lower Table Mountain cable station had already been evacuated after the fires started on Saturday morning.

"It's very hot and very strong winds are blowing, making it more difficult to fight the fires, which are jumping."

Smith said firefighters managed to avert the fire from spreading to nearby properties.

LiNk (http://www.news24.com/News24/South_Africa/News/0,,2-7-1442_1855369,00.html)

[Mad Dog 83]

I think we owe the pilots and crews flying for the Working on Fire team a very BIG applause and thank you for the way in which they are so professionally fighting the fires which are so prevalent in the Western Cape in these times.

I went "chopper chasing" this afternoon, and did extensive photography of the effort. Two UT Air Mi 8 MTV-1s, ZS-RUB (normally kept at Jonkershoek this season) and ZS-RUC (based at Newlands) as well as the TITAN Aviation example, ZS-RIX wrere used.

The Kamov Ka 32T, ZS-RRI, could not be used because there was no crew for it. In any event it is not on contract for fighting fires at this moment

For those who wish to see some of the pictures, please vist my website at:

www.airpic.co.za


enjoy!

[Gunship]

Tx for the pics mate.

yes they DO need a special mention .. sometimes just overlooked.

is the fire under control now ?

[organ donor]

Fires raging on Table Mountain in Cape Town since Saturday were brought under control on Sunday morning, the city's City disaster management services spokesperson John Brown said.

Sporadic fires broke out overnight around Cape Town, which woke up to a howling south-easter on Sunday morning.

Two houses had been totally gutted by late on Saturday night, three had been totally destroyed and at least six had suffered damage.

The overnight flare-ups had been on the slopes of Devil's Peak, at Gordon's Bay and at Melkbos beach, Brown said

However, no further property was damaged.

[Gunship]

Tx for that organ donour :ok:

Yip the fynbos needs fire ... locals do not.

Nature takes it 's own course (sometimes with sad consequences)

[Check Revs]

I don't see any Oryx pics. Do they still do any firefighting?

CR

[organ donor]

"The flying hours and fuel consumption notched up by helicopters fighting blazes in Cape Town during this year's fire season are more than treble those last year, with firefighting helicopters having to work "almost continuously".

The provincial co-ordinator of Working on Fire, Fransuliene Bosch, said it was "nearly impossible to compare. It seems last year they were barely off the ground when you contrast it with this year."

Since December 1, the two Mi8 helicopters kept at Working on Fire's Newlands dispatch centre have each clocked up between 55 and 60 flying hours and used more than 44 000 litres of aviation fuel.

Working on Fire's advocacy and awareness co-ordinator, Val Charlton, said: "Over the weekend alone the Mi8s were flying throughout the day, squeezing in all the daylight hours. They haven't really been on the ground."

On Tuesday the helicopters remained on standby as there were no major fires.

The two Mi8s and smaller Kamov helicopter each cost about R26 000 an hour to fly.

National and provincial disaster management, the City of Cape Town, CapeNature, Cape Winelands District Municipality, Mountain to Ocean Forestry and SA National Parks all contribute to the payment.

Charlton said if a helicopter was called out to fight a fire on private land, for example a farm near a mountain, "a deal would be made with the owners".

When all its aircraft are in operation and more assistance is required, Working on Fire calls on the SA Air Force, as was the case on Saturday with a fire in Blouberg.

Although Working on Fire's helicopters have been used extensively and use 800 litres of aviation fuel an hour, Bosch does not think they run the risk of running out of fuel.

"We have drums of fuel stored at Newlands and the pilots help us to calculate when we should order more," she said."

[Gunship]

Vrouwtjie advises that Franchoek bergs are all on fire .. Stellenbosch are full of roet and strooi ... good luck and best wishes to the fire fighters (air and land !) :ok:

[Captain Pheremone]

The two Mi8s and smaller Kamov helicopter each cost about R26 000 an hour to fly.

Smaller in size but bigger in carrying capacity - journalists?????????

[Gunship]

http://www.int.iol.co.za/data/picdb/a/5/picdb43b503664e9f5

Farm homes and livestock were threatened by a huge runaway fire in the Franschhoek Valley as firefighters from all over the province were rushed to the area overnight.

In the Franschhoek valley, wine farms and homesteads were evacuated.

The main force of the fire burned south of the Berg River through the back of well-known wine farms such as M™reson, Bellingham and L'Ormarins.


Firefighters battled through the night to contain the blaze, but at least one farm dwelling and several storage barns were destroyed. About 9 000hectares of vegetation was devastated.

Early on Friday Working on Fire advocacy and awareness co-ordinator Val Charlton told the Cape Argus the fire had split in two, with one front headed for Franschhoek itself and a second towards Du Toit's Kloof.

Wilfred Solomons, disaster risk management co-ordinator, said early today that no lives or property were in immediate danger.

Charlton said the fire was burning in inaccessible areas high up in the mountains. "The terrain is really rocky and mountainous."

High winds and tinder-dry vegetation were driving the blaze, which had spread into the Robertsvlei area overnight.

Two helicopters were dispatched at first light today to aid more than 100 firefighters from Working on Fire, Cape Nature Conservation, Disaster Management and fire services from all over the region.

Charlton said additional teams had been drafted in from afar afield as the Southern Cape and Clanwilliam on the West Coast.

The fire began on Thursday morning near the source of the Berg River in the mountains south of Franschhoek, close to the Skuifraam Dam, which is currently under construction.

Fuelled by a raging south-easterly wind, the fire spread at breakneck speed towards the towns of Pniel and Stellenbosch.

The entire Berg River basin has been filled by thick, billowing smoke and large parts of Cape Town's northern suburbs were also enveloped in a thick cloud of smoke.

The R45 between the Boschendal farm area and Franschhoek was closed by traffic police as water tenders raced from farm to farm.

Sporadic reports of burned barns and cottages flooded the impromptu control centre at Wemmershoek saw mill.

At Upper Waterfall farm, against the Drakenstein mountains, 30 horses were evacuated from a stud farm. Embers carried on the wind posed a widespread hazard.

Rhodes Food Group's dairy was more than 5km from the nearest blaze, but a huge feed shed was set alight shortly after 9pm. Workers raced to move several hundred head of cattle, and farmers rushed to damp down cattle pens nearby.

Behind the Skuifraam dam site, in the Robertsvlei valley, the fire burned backwards too, tearing through eucalyptus and pine forests. Cottages were evacuated at Dewdale farm, famed for its trout fishing, as fires approached from three sides.

Residents loaded cars and bakkies with possessions such as fridges and stoves, along with children's favourite toys. Many possessions were taken to Franschhoek police station for safekeeping.

On Thursday three helicopters were used to waterbomb the flames. Two fixed-wing aircraft, which assisted earlier in the day, were withdrawn because of the dense smoke.

One firefighter was taken to hospital last night suffering from exhaustion.

[Check Revs]

Thanks for the pic Guns, knew you would make my day.

Have a good year

CR