Jonkershoek fire leaves 2 firefighters seriously injured, warm weather leads to flare-ups
The South African Weather Service (SAWS) is predicting temperatures reaching into the high thirties on Sunday, which in turn will have a negative impact on firefighters' efforts.
The Cape Winelands District Municipality’s Fire Services say they have made good progress in bringing the fire that has been raging in the mountains above Stellenbosch and Franschhoek under control.
"The incident command team have reported that due to favourable wind conditions, the aerial resources have made good progress on the fire lines on the higher slopes and peaks of Bothmaskop through to the Helshoogte pass.," says the Western Cape Department of Local Government's James Brent Styan.
"The current hot weather has affected the length of time that the helicopters can remain in the air and teams will need to stand down in the late afternoon," he noted on Saturday,
Styan said the fire in the valley below Jonkershoek is proving challenging with teams reporting repeated flare-ups that were difficult to bring under control due to the hot weather.
ALSO READ: 100 000 hectares of farmland destroyed by Free State fires
"The fire fighters, ground crews and vehicles will focus their attention on managing this fire during the relative cool of the night," he noted.
Styan added that the South African Weather Service (SAWS) is predicting temperatures reaching into the high thirties on Sunday, which in turn will have a negative impact on firefighters' efforts.
Styan said two ground team members were seriously injured whil trygin to contaitn the fire and were to be transferred to specialist facilities for further care.