40°C West Cape on red alertBlazes spread acoss region as temperatures soar
CAPE ARGUS March 05, 2009 Murray Williams Raging fires and blistering heat paralysed the Western Cape today, prompting a province-wide "red alert" of maximum readiness among the entire rescue fraternity. A sweltering 40°C was predicted for Paarl today, with the city only slightly cooler at 38°C, and school principals indicating that extra-mural activities would be kept to a minimum or cancelled. In an ominous warning yesterday, a senior nature expert said the fire that has burned for the past month above Somerset West, Stellenbosch and the Elgin Valley could have a severe impact on Cape Town's water supplies next summer as the Hottentots Holland mountains are the main provider of water to the Cape Metropolitan area. This morning at least three major fires burned fiercely. First is the week-old fire in the Hottentots Holland Nature Reserve, which stretches between Franschhoek and Sir Lowry's Pass. The second is a new blaze at the foot of Sir Lowry's Pass in Elandskloof. And a third fire broke out late last night on the mountain above Paarl. At midday today, a fire department spokesman said the Paarl blaze started at 9pm last night, and was burning on top of the mountain and down the east flank towards the town. "The fire's about 30m away from the houses," one exhausted firefighter reported. Between them, the three fires smothered greater Cape Town in thick dusty-grey smoke today. A fourth fire was reported today, north of Malmesbury. Yesterday firefighters deep in the Hottentots Holland mountains had to be rescued by a helicopter after they were trapped between two fires closing in on one another. "We can't afford to endanger lives," said Leon Lourens from the reserve's head office at Nuweberg outside Grabouw. These were teams which had been fighting the fires on foot in the mountainous reserve, in areas inaccessible by vehicle. The crews work 12-hour shifts, sustained by army rations.
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