View all in Latest
View all in Local
View all in Politics
View all in Opinion
View all in Business
View all in Lifestyle
View all in Sport
View all in Video
View all in Cartoons
20°C / 22°C
  • Mon
  • 28°C
  • 15°C
  • Tue
  • 25°C
  • 13°C
  • Wed
  • 22°C
  • 12°C
  • Thu
  • 25°C
  • 12°C
  • Fri
  • 27°C
  • 15°C
  • Sat
  • 28°C
  • 16°C
  • Mon
  • 19°C
  • 13°C
  • Tue
  • 24°C
  • 13°C
  • Wed
  • 22°C
  • 13°C
  • Thu
  • 19°C
  • 14°C
  • Fri
  • 20°C
  • 14°C
  • Sat
  • 22°C
  • 15°C
  • Mon
  • 29°C
  • 16°C
  • Tue
  • 26°C
  • 14°C
  • Wed
  • 24°C
  • 13°C
  • Thu
  • 27°C
  • 14°C
  • Fri
  • 28°C
  • 17°C
  • Sat
  • 30°C
  • 18°C
  • Mon
  • 29°C
  • 13°C
  • Tue
  • 29°C
  • 10°C
  • Wed
  • 27°C
  • 14°C
  • Thu
  • 27°C
  • 14°C
  • Fri
  • 29°C
  • 15°C
  • Sat
  • 30°C
  • 18°C
  • Mon
  • 23°C
  • 17°C
  • Tue
  • 22°C
  • 16°C
  • Wed
  • 26°C
  • 18°C
  • Thu
  • 28°C
  • 19°C
  • Fri
  • 23°C
  • 19°C
  • Sat
  • 26°C
  • 19°C
  • Mon
  • 18°C
  • 13°C
  • Tue
  • 19°C
  • 13°C
  • Wed
  • 25°C
  • 14°C
  • Thu
  • 21°C
  • 16°C
  • Fri
  • 20°C
  • 14°C
  • Sat
  • 22°C
  • 13°C
  • Mon
  • 18°C
  • 9°C
  • Tue
  • 29°C
  • 9°C
  • Wed
  • 27°C
  • 15°C
  • Thu
  • 20°C
  • 13°C
  • Fri
  • 22°C
  • 12°C
  • Sat
  • 23°C
  • 12°C
  • Mon
  • 16°C
  • 12°C
  • Tue
  • 24°C
  • 12°C
  • Wed
  • 24°C
  • 16°C
  • Thu
  • 18°C
  • 14°C
  • Fri
  • 20°C
  • 13°C
  • Sat
  • 22°C
  • 15°C
  • Mon
  • 31°C
  • 16°C
  • Tue
  • 29°C
  • 14°C
  • Wed
  • 25°C
  • 16°C
  • Thu
  • 28°C
  • 15°C
  • Fri
  • 30°C
  • 17°C
  • Sat
  • 32°C
  • 19°C
  • Mon
  • 26°C
  • 12°C
  • Tue
  • 29°C
  • 9°C
  • Wed
  • 33°C
  • 13°C
  • Thu
  • 26°C
  • 17°C
  • Fri
  • 31°C
  • 14°C
  • Sat
  • 33°C
  • 15°C
  • Mon
  • 34°C
  • 15°C
  • Tue
  • 19°C
  • 14°C
  • Wed
  • 24°C
  • 14°C
  • Thu
  • 29°C
  • 14°C
  • Fri
  • 32°C
  • 16°C
  • Sat
  • 28°C
  • 18°C
  • Mon
  • 18°C
  • 11°C
  • Tue
  • 20°C
  • 10°C
  • Wed
  • 29°C
  • 13°C
  • Thu
  • 21°C
  • 14°C
  • Fri
  • 22°C
  • 12°C
  • Sat
  • 24°C
  • 13°C
Go

9 killed as shack fires ravage CT informal settlements

Firefighters responded to several major incidents across the Peninsula which have left hundreds homeless.

Hundreds of shacks were razed to the ground, leaving hundreds displaced in separate incidents in Khayelitsha and Hout Bay on 27 December 2015. Picture: Natalie Malgas/EWN.
Hundreds of shacks were razed to the ground, leaving hundreds displaced in separate incidents in Khayelitsha and Hout Bay on 27 December 2015. Picture: Natalie Malgas/EWN.
| 1449 days ago

CAPE TOWN - It's been a grim Christmas weekend for some families across the Cape after a rash of blazes claimed at least nine lives, including two children, and left hundreds more people homeless.

Firefighters responded to several major incidents across the Peninsula when fires ripped through areas including Khayelitsha, Hout Bay and Mfuleni.

Fire crews also responded to a burning train at Cape Town station late yesterday.

Cape Town firefighters battled strong winds and raging flames for over eight hours before three vegetation fires at Slangkop, Misty Cliffs and Glencairn were brought under control on Saturday.

Officials say some of the blazes broke out as teams were responding to fires in Uitsig, Delft, Mfuleni and Overcome Heights near Vrygrond.

Hundreds of shacks were razed to the ground, leaving hundreds displaced in separate incidents in Khayelitsha and Hout Bay yesterday.

Fire crews will remain on high alert across the Peninsula where strong wind conditions are expected to persist for much of the week.

CITY OF CAPE TOWN CALLED TO INTERVENE

The Hout Bay Civic Association has called on the City of Cape Town to prioritise Imizamo Yethu as a high-risk zone after four lives were lost in separate blazes in the area over the past several months.

Several emergency shelters have been set up to accommodate families affected by the blaze.

This is the second fire to strike Zola section in Imizamo Yethu in six weeks.

The Hout Bay Civic Association's Roscoe Jacobs says they have since called on the city to provide residents with fire-proof materials.

"So we're calling on them to actually implement these things within commmunitites, such as Imizamo Yethu where fires are actually prevalence. We've lost four lives in that area since August."

The city's Disaster Risk Management officials have begun clearing the debris so residents can start rebuilding their homes.

Timeline

More in Local

Comments

EWN welcomes all comments that are constructive, contribute to discussions in a meaningful manner and take stories forward.

However, we will NOT condone the following:

- Racism (including offensive comments based on ethnicity and nationality)
- Sexism
- Homophobia
- Religious intolerance
- Cyber bullying
- Hate speech
- Derogatory language
- Comments inciting violence.

We ask that your comments remain relevant to the articles they appear on and do not include general banter or conversation as this dilutes the effectiveness of the comments section.

We strive to make the EWN community a safe and welcoming space for all.

EWN reserves the right to: 1) remove any comments that do not follow the above guidelines; and, 2) ban users who repeatedly infringe the rules.

Should you find any comments upsetting or offensive you can also flag them and we will assess it against our guidelines.

EWN is constantly reviewing its comments policy in order to create an environment conducive to constructive conversations.

comments powered by Disqus
COPYRIGHT 2019 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED | Terms & Conditions | Privacy | PAIA