By Lisalee Solomons.
Fire crews will remain in the mountains at Peck’s Valley in Muizenberg, Cape Town on Sunday to monitor hotspots after a fire that broke out on Saturday afternoon was contained overnight.
Table Mountain National Park fire manager Justin Buchmann said a drone was used to get an aerial view of the focus areas for the fire service crew.
“The fire above Boyes Drive…has been contained in the early hours of this morning, but hotspots [still]require attention. Table Mountain National Park will send a new crew to the scene to ensure the safety of these hotspot areas,” said Buchmann.
Staff, together with contract and Volunteer Wildfire Service crews, worked late into the night to stop the blaze spreading, while City of Cape Town Fire and Rescue and disaster management provided their drone, as well as assisting with refilling water tankers.
According to SANParks, no injuries or damage to properties were reported.
SANParks has cautioned hikers to avoid hiking trails around Peck’s Valley for the time being.
Spokesperson Lauren Howard-Clayton said when they received information about the fire on Saturday, three Volunteer Wildfire Services ground crews and crews from Mountain Men Security responded to the blaze along Boyes Drive, in the direction of Lakeside.
The dark smoke started spreading to parts of Muizenberg, Lakeside and Tokai, with motorists stopping their cars along the road to take photos and videos of the inferno.
At a Checkers retail store in Muizenberg, some staff hurriedly started closing their doors as smoke started billowing through, causing a few security guards to break out in coughing fits while they rallied to shut up shop.
By 23:35 on Saturday, parts of the mountain were still burning.