A 37-year-old man is expected to appear in the Simon’s Town Magistrate’s Court tomorrow in connection with a fire allegedly started on the mountain in the Clovelly area.
According to police, there is no indication that the suspect can be linked to the larger Tokai fires, which began on Friday.
Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security, JP Smith, said the man was seen on Monday walking up the Clovelly side of the mountain carrying a container believed to contain flammable liquid.
Acting on this tip-off, law enforcement officers tracked the man’s movements and found him in the act of starting a fire. The officers immediately extinguished the small blaze.
The man was arrested at the scene and taken to Fish Hoek police station. Police also discovered mandrax tablets in his possession.
A fire investigator is looking at the cause of the larger Tokai blazes, which SANParks suspects were started deliberately.
Meanwhile, it is hoped that the rainfall from this afternoon will provide much-needed relief to fire crews who have worked since Friday to extinguish the fires.
