Cape Town hunkers down as cold front brings threat of more fires

On Saturday, the South African Weather Service forecast is calling for exceptionally strong winds, paired with dry conditions in parts of the Western Cape that will increase the threat of bushfires in many areas.

Cape Town and the surrounding region is set to see another cold front making landfall on Saturday, bringing some welcome rain along with the threat of gale-force winds fuelling potential fires. This has prompted provincial authorities to put emergency personnel on standby.

Thousands have had to evacuate Knysna, a town 500 kilometres east of Cape Town on South Africa's famed Garden Route, due to fires

PATRICK HERTZOG, AFP/File

Of particular concern are the winds, forecast to be northerly to north-westerly over most of the Western and Northern Cape today. Winds of 50 to 60 kilometers (30-37 miles) per hour were expected. However, the southern part of the Northern Cape will see gale-force winds in excess of 70 to 90 kilometers (45 to 55 miles) per hour.

Rescue aircraft grounded by gale-force winds
The Eden District, along the Western Cape Garden Route‚ including Knysna, was ravaged by bushfires this week, forcing the evacuation of thousands of people. As of Saturday morning, rescue aircraft had to be grounded because of the gale-force winds.

James-Brent Styan‚ a spokesman for Western Cape Local Government Ministry, told Times Live that “conditions were “very difficult” as the winds had picked up considerably by 11 a.m. local time. Fires have destroyed 408 formal and 200 informal structures.

The tweet reads: Strange atmosphere in #Paarl today with heavy #bushfires, #winds and #smoke hanging over the valley. Serious fire fighting going on.

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“Eleven aircraft have been working in the region including three SANDF Oryx helicopters with a fourth inbound. These assets have been working tirelessly during the morning but have now all been grounded until further notice due to the bad weather conditions making flying unsafe. This will make the situation this afternoon very difficult,” Styan said.

The Knysna area, like Cape Town, is also suffering from a water shortage, although reservoir levels are at 30 percent. The town’s hospital was damaged and is still closed and electricity is now a cause for concern in the area.

Hardest hit were the thousands of people living in shantytowns. Already suffering from the drought, the heavy rains and flooding washed their homes away, leaving people without shelter, food or water, according to Reuters.