Staff Reporter.
A fire in Paarl, Western Cape, has left 400 people homeless after it gutted 100 informal homes in the Drommedaris Informal Settlement in Mbekweni.
The cause of the blaze is unknown.
Humanitarian organisation Gift of the Givers said community members and Drakenstein Disaster Management asked them to help with the “devastating fire” at the Drommedaris Informal Settlement.
“There was no Christmas last year as [South Africa was] ravaged by an aggressive second wave of Covid-19 with deaths running into the hundreds. It seems that the residents of the Drommedaris Informal Settlement in Mbekweni, Paarl, are going to be deprived of Christmas yet again,” said Gift of the Givers.
?Gift of the Givers Intervenes in Mbekweni Fire Disaster.
Tap to read: https://t.co/Wtn8I5zPXy#GiftoftheGivers #MakeADifference #ForTheGreaterGood #DisasterResponse #Fire #SouthAfrica pic.twitter.com/TtWKmZoMst
— Gift of the Givers (@GiftoftheGivers) December 18, 2021
The organisation said it would be delivering hot meals, blankets, mattresses, water and hygiene packs to the victims on Sunday “in an attempt to bring some hope in the gloom and despair”.
Meanwhile on Friday, 60 firefighters, eight firefighting vehicles and two helicopters were trying to put out blazes on the slopes of the Paarlberg.
The Cape Winelands District Municipality then said fire services and partners were continuing to fight the fire.
Fire crews in Ceres, in Western Cape, have spent the night monitoring two fires that broke out in the area. The Cape Winelands District Municipality Spokesperson, Anesca Roodt says both fires were contained.