Table Mountain National Park has seen a total of 34 fires since the 1st of November. According to the South African National Parks, an alarming trend has emerged, where the large majority of incidents sparked within the Signal Hill area, the current hot spot.
Keeping a watchful eye this evening!
Our dedicated rangers at Table Mountain National Park are on duty, ensuring everyone's safety and preserving this breathtaking landscape.#SANParks #TableMountain #Rangers #LiveYourWild pic.twitter.com/PBDCJBpu6R
— SANParks TMNP (@TableMountainNP) November 29, 2023
97% of these blazes have been contained within the first 90 minutes of deployment. SANParks adds the link between these incidents and specific days of the week has been ruled out due to the primary cause being vagrancy. Spokesperson Lauren Howard -Clayton has highlighted this:
“Table Mountain National Park has witnessed a surge in fire incidents, with a total of 34 fires being responded to – 23 of which have occurred between November and early December. However a trend has arisen regarding the cause of these fires, as the majority can be attributed to vagrants,” says Howard-Clayton.
The organisation says after acknowledging this trend, firefighting contracted crews from NCC Wildfires and the Volunteer Wildfire Services (VWS) are operating at full capacity for the season. The NCC wildfires and VWS crews will remain on standby throughout the season, ready for immediate deployment upon activation, ensuring an effective response to any emergent situations.
“We extend our congratulations to VWS for hosting a successful open day at Newlands over the past weekend, drawing an encouraging attendance of approximately 3255 individuals and families. It is fantastic to see the public support volunteerism and the role they can play in helping the various authorities, in this case Integrated Wildfire Management given the fire prone environment surrounding the Cape Metropole. It is through the public supporting these initiatives that volunteer groups can play such a big supporting role in our response to fires on the Wildland Urban interface and just as importantly educate and inform the youth of potential fire risks, “says Justin Buchmann – TMNP Integrated Fire Manager.
READ MORE: Fire season: R16 million budget to fight wildfires
