Officials concerned about fire's proximity to Rawsonville farms
The blaze, that started above the Brandvlei Prison on Monday afternoon, spread across the top of the mountain, into the Dwarsberg Mountains.
Working on Fire personnel attend to a fire in Kluitjieskraal in the Western Cape on 30 January 2024. Picture: @wo_fire/X
CAPE TOWN - The Cape Winelands District Municipality said that firefighters spent a difficult night on the slopes of the Dwarsberg Mountains above Rawsonville.
The blaze, which started above the Brandvlei Prison on Monday afternoon, spread across the top of the mountain, into the Dwarsberg Mountains.
By late Tuesday afternoon, the fire line was around four kilometers long.
The municipality's Jo-Anne Otto: "Teams battled the fire that was burning rapidly through very tall and dense vegetation, making fire fighting activities difficult and particularly dangerous for all. At about 1 o'clock this morning, preparations were already underway to evacuate the popular Dwarsberg Trout Hideaway when a sudden change in wind direction forced the fire away from structures and back up into the mountains."
On Wednesday morning, the fire had two lines and officials were concerned about its proximity to farms.