Residents evacuated due to Table Mountain fire

18 March 2009

A fire started on Table Mountain (yes, the same mountain in the header image at the top of the blog) around 20h30 last night but it was raging out of control by midnight due to strong winds. People had to be evacuated from Vredehoek and High Cape since the fires were coming dangerously close to their homes. The fire started near Rhodes Memorial and has spread all the way around the mountain towards the Vredehoek area. I'm watching the fire through my window while writing this; it's quite a spectacular sight even though an obvious tragedy.

De Waal Drive was closed after midnight due to the heavy smoke. More than 100 firemen were dispatched to the scene and I'm sure more will be needed throughout the night. According to Eye Witness News people who were sleeping in the bush were overwhelmed by the fire and suffered injuries. So many people have gathered on Signal Hill to take photos but this has created a problem for the fire department due to the subsequent traffic.

Here's a few pics:


Source


Pic taken from Claremont - the other side of Table Mountain
Source


Source


Source

I followed the comments about the fire in realtime on Monitter and Nearby Tweets. Lot of traffic! The developing story was covered quite well by all the messages ("tweets"), long before the mainstream newswires picked it up. I'm listening to CapeTalk 567's radio online now; people who were evacuated calling in, some having nowhere to go. It's going to be a long night for firemen and residents alike.