Arson suspected as fire rages across Table Mountain National Park, 3 000 hectares burned

A massive wildfire continues to ravage Table Mountain National Park in Cape Town, with approximately 3,000 hectares of vegetation already destroyed.

The blaze, which authorities suspect was deliberately set, has forced the evacuation of 198 households and continues to pose significant challenges for firefighting teams.

Table Mountain fire remains uncontained

Table Mountain National Park Manager Megan Taplin confirmed that the fire remains actively burning on two fronts.

The fire started on Friday evening, 25 April, with what appeared to be three separate ignition points.

While firefighters initially managed to contain the flames through Saturday, changing weather conditions on Sunday caused the situation to deteriorate rapidly.

Table Mountain fire: Suspected arson

Preliminary investigations suggest the fire was deliberately set, according to park authorities

“It seems to point towards that it was malicious intent. The way that the fires were started and the locations where they were started show that,” Taplin revealed to SABC, though she noted that a full investigation will only be concluded once it’s safe to return to the affected areas.

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The firefighting effort has been substantial, with four helicopters deployed to water-bomb the flames and over 100 firefighters from multiple agencies working on the ground.

Overnight operations involved as many as 250 firefighters battling the blaze.

“We do have four helicopters that are active at the moment, bombing the fire as well as 120 firefighters who are on the ground from multiple agencies,” said Taplin during an afternoon update.

Weather conditions had initially hampered aerial operations, with low-lying smoke and mist preventing helicopters from taking off at first light.

However, conditions improved later in the day, allowing for more effective aerial firefighting.

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Evacuations and infrastructure damage

The fire has forced numerous evacuations, including 48 frail care patients and residents from retirement villages near Ou Kaapse Weg and upper Tokai areas, Newzroom Afrika reported.

However, Taplin later confirmed that there had been no further evacuations reported during the day.

Some infrastructure damage has already occurred in the Silvermine area of the national park.

“We did have some damage yesterday in the Silvermine area of Table Mountain National Park where the fire went quite quickly through that area.

“There were the ablutions there near the Silvermine dam that did get burnt as well as some of the boardwalks and signage and there were also some vehicles that were caught in the fire,” Taplin reported.

Table Mountain fire environmental impact

The fire has had a significant impact on the local environment, particularly on the fynbos vegetation and wildlife in the area.

“Of course, the fire has burnt about 3 000 hectares so far in terms of the mainly fynbos vegetation, but of course, some trees as well,” said Taplin.

“There will have been wildlife that’s been affected. Normally it’s the slower moving species like the tortoises and that kind of thing that might be affected.” she added.

Animal welfare organizations are assisting with the rescue and rehabilitation of affected wildlife.

Road closures

The City of Cape Town has implemented several road closures throughout the affected areas.

These include Main and Boyes Drive, Main Road in Lakeside, Main and Clairvaux, Noordhoek and Old Kaapse Weg/Boyes Drive, Steenberg and Tokai Road near the Circle, and Tokai and Zwaanswyk.

Authorities have advised the public to avoid these areas completely while firefighting operations continue.

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