Valiant Fire Crews Unable to Contain Bainskloof Valley Fire in Gusting Conditions

A fire that started mid-morning on Saturday in the Bainskloof Valley quickly spread due to high velocity winds and challenging undulating terrain. I spent the night with NCC hotshot crews as they tackled the right flank up the mountain… writes Western Cape photographer Justin Sullivan.

Teams from Cape Winelands DM, Cape Nature, WOF (Working on Fire), VWS (Volunteer Wildfire Services) and the Red Ants were deployed alongside the NCC crews to protect property and secure the flanks.

According to an update on the Bainskloof fire 10/12 09:00 from IC: “The fire in Bainskloof pass spread rapidly due to the extreme weather conditions despite the valiant effort of our fire teams. Fire crews were unable to contain the fire as it came down at Arc n Ciel and Kranskop, and sections of Orchards and olive groves were damaged. We were unable to use aerial support due to the prevailing gusting winds conditions. Additional ground teams have been deployed to try and contain the fire which is now burning high up in the Kranse.

“We have no reported injuries, all our resources are stretched to the limit, fire fighting operations will continue and we are expecting the extreme weather conditions to prevail throughout the day.”

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