Several hiking trails closed due to Table Mountain fires
Multiple areas experienced fires on Saturday due to lightning strikes.
Picture: Facebook/ @SANParks - Table Mountain National Park
Sara-Jayne Makwala King spoke to Park Manager for Table Mountain National Park, Megan Taplin.
Listen to their conversation in the audio clip below.
Lightning strikes on Saturday (27 April) resulted in several fires in multiple areas, reported Table Mountain National Park (TMNP).
Areas affected included Cecilia Forest, Silvermine, and the Cape Of Good Hope (Cape Point) main road.
Despite these fires now being contained, Taplin says there is a new area of concern.
"The one of concern at the moment is the one that is on the Back Table near the reservoirs on top of the mountain and moving down towards the Kirstenbosch area -it is in quite an inaccessible place where the crews have to walk in to fight the fire."
- Megan Taplin, Park Manager for Table Mountain National Park
Taplin adds that they have a number of ground crews who have been redirected from the Cape Point area to tackle this fire.
Regrettably, she says, helicopters are not able to assist with water bombing operations due to the current weather conditions.
"We do have two helicopters that are waiting to fight the fire, unfortunately, the wind conditions are not good this morning and they've had to stand down due to extreme winds but as soon as they get a gap and if the winds do drop at all, they will be back in the air and putting water on those fires."
- Megan Taplin, Park Manager for Table Mountain National Park
The following hiking trails have been closed as a result of the fires:
Cape of Good Hope
Hiking routes from Gifkommetjie to Circles Vlei and any trails originating from Olifantsbos, as well as Sirkelvlei hiking trail and Link Road cycling route closed in the Cape Of Good Hope section have been affected and are closed to hikers until further notice. Circular Drive has also been closed as a precautionary measure.
Back Table and Skeleton Gorge - Table Mountain
All footpaths leading to Back Table from Camps Bay and Hout Bay, Constantia Nek, Cecilia Forest, Kirstenbosch, Orangekloof hiking trails have been closed.
In case of emergencies or sightings of new fires, contact emergency services immediately at 086 110 6417 or the Newlands Dispatch at 021 689 7438.
Scroll up to listen to the full interview.