By Annisa Essack

19:04:2021

Raging wildfires on the slopes of Table Mountain forced the University of Cape Town to evacuate its upper campus on the slopes of the mountain. The fire, which broke out on Sunday morning spread from Rhodes Memorial to UCT. There has been significant damage to several historical buildings, a restaurant, a UCT precious library, and Mostert’s Mill. Many of the students affected belong to the Fuller House student residence. The inferno has also led to many road closures across the City.

Hikers were urged by SANParks to evacuate the Newlands and Rhodes Memorial area as fire-fighting teams from Working on Fire and Table Mountain National Park was deployed to fight the blaze. Four helicopters are also water bombing.

City of Cape Town Fire Chief Jermaine Carelse confirmed that Table Mountain National Park (TMNP) and other agencies collectively have 250 firefighters deployed at the fire scenes. He says additional resources were pulled in from around 4 am on Monday. The Chief confirmed two City firefighters and two privately contracted firefighters were injured yesterday. They are in hospital, but there is no update on their condition.

Gift of the Givers has stepped in to help thousands of students that have been affected by the Cape Town fires. The organisation revealed that several corporates have called to assist, including Pick n Pay, WOOLWORTHS and Engen SA. Old Mutual South Africa has also made their functions venue available to Gift of the Givers, and this will be operational from 08h00 on Monday morning.

With the blaze tearing through large parts of the Table Mountain Nature Reserve, the Cape of Good Hope SPCA have been mobilised to assist with efforts to protect the plentiful animal species that inhabit the area, adding that inspectors and teams tasked with doing so have been hindered by the dangerous, escalating conditions.

The fire created its own wind further increasing the rate of spread. It is estimated that firefighters would need at least three days to control the blaze. The cause of the fire has not yet been determined, but it began above Phillip Kgosane Drive on Sunday morning.