Officials are working to contain a fire on the M1 in Johannesburg. (Screengrab/@Abramjee/X)
City Power said it suspects that the fire on the M1 highway in Johannesburg may have been sparked by vandals.
Parts of Johannesburg‘s inner city were filled with smoke on Wednesday morning after underground cables caught alight.
The blaze led to power outages in several parts of the city including Braamfontein, Page View, Parktown, Melville, Amalgam, Vrededop, Johannesburg, and surrounding areas.
According to officials, no casualties or injuries have been reported.
City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena said it is still early to determine the extent of the damage to infrastructure.
“It is suspected that the fire may be as a result of acts of theft vandalism of the electricity infrastructure.”
Mangena said City Power’s multidisciplinary teams will work on repairs to restore supply to customers affected by this incident.
“City Power assures the public that the fire is under control and customers in Braamfontein, the CBD and Parktown, that its teams are committed to conducting repairs to ensure that supply is restored. The time of restoration will depend on the extent of the damage and work that has to be conducted on site.
“Preliminary findings indicate that the fire affected the cable from the Fordsburg substation to the Braamfontein substation. The exact area of the fire will be determined when the fire has been extinguished and the smoke has cleared,” Mangena said.
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City Power has apologised for the inconvenience caused to customers who are affected by the power outage, as well as members of the public who are stuck in traffic as the result of the fire
According to City Power, there have been rising cases of theft and vandalism of its infrastructure.
“There has been a disturbing trend around the vandalism of transformers, causing prolonged recurring outages in areas,” said Mangena.
Nine men were arrested in March for cable theft and tampering with essential infrastructure in Johannesburg.
Meanwhile, the M1 Highway in Central Johannesburg is currently closed in both directions between Empire Road in Parktown (southbound) and Carr Street in Newtown (northbound) due to a fire under the M1 overpass.
Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD) spokesperson Xolani Fihla said officers are assisting with traffic control and diversions in the area.
“Motorists travelling southbound on the M1 are redirected at Jan Smuts Avenue and Empire Road, while those heading northbound are diverted at Carr Street.
“At this time, there is no established timeframe for when the scene will be cleared. Therefore, motorists are advised to consider the closure when planning their routes,” Fihla said.
Addtional reporting by Kyle Zeeman
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