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- Two injured firefighters, with serious injuries, were transferred for specialized attention.
- The Cape Winelands Municipality said good progress was made in controlling the fire.
- The municipality thanked the people for their generosity in bringing food, hydration and balsam for the firefighters.
Two firefighters were seriously injured while fighting the fire over Stellenbosch and Franschhoek, and were subsequently transferred for specialized care.
The Cape Winelands Municipality said there were no other reports of injuries on a day in which good progress was made in controlling the fire.
However, the heat affected the amount of time the helicopters could stay in the air. The fire was attacked from above, in support of firefighters working on the ground in difficult terrain.
The fire has raged for a few days, and on Friday it resulted in an orange coating over the sky as smoke from the fynbos and oil from other plants mixed with the ash and rose into the air.
Jonkershoek fire on Thursday night.
Jonkershoek fire.
The smoke left an orange layer in the sky from as far away as Strand.
Spokeswoman Jo-Anne Otto said the incident command center reported that due to favorable wind conditions on Saturday, air resources made good progress on firing lines on the slopes and higher peaks of Bothmaskop to the Helshoogte pass.
“There is a small line of fire on the peak above Banhoek, but it is inaccessible on foot or by vehicle, and the water barrage will be ineffective due to the steep cliffs,” he said.
“The fire in the valley below Jonkershoek is proving challenging. Crews reported that repeated outbreaks were difficult to control due to the hot weather.”
bush
Jonkershoek is a vast area of forest and scrub near the town of Stellenbosch.
“Firefighters, ground crews and vehicles will focus their attention on managing this fire during the relatively cool night,” Otto said.
The South African Meteorological Service predicts temperatures will reach 30 degrees Celsius on Sunday, making the firefighters’ job even more difficult.
So far, there has been no loss of life or infrastructure.
The municipality and its partners thanked everyone for the generous donations and said there was more than enough for the next few days.
