I love my sleep and can usually drown out most distractions – the snoring, sounds of gunfire, the kitties trying to get under the sheets. The sweet sounds of the alarm clock and delicate aroma of cooking oats that I usually wake up to got replaced with wailing police sirens and choking smoke. I thought I woke up in someone else’s nightmare but the situation is all too real.
Cape Town’s ablaze, the mountain is dotted with fires, residents in Vredehoek have been evacuated, and I’ve been sneezing like a motherfucker. Altogether not a very happy situation.
Here are some pics.
Image credit: Short-sighted Shooter
Image credit: TristanOwen
Image credit: coda
More than a 100 fire-fighters are busy battling the blaze that apparently began in area of bush and grass on Table Mountain behind the University Of Cape Town and near Vredehoek. Three firefighters have been injured thus far. Our hearts go out to the people and animals affected by the blaze.
See more images at Imod, read the news story at News24 and IOL, and keep up with the Tweets.
Update: So it’s a few hours later and the fire carries on. Ash is all over the place, and four helicopters are flying through the smoky skies. Feels like I’ve smoked a carton of ciggies. Euch. Here’s a quick snap from my house.
According to the latest article on News24, two bergies sustained third degree burns, five firefighters were injured, 60 people were evacuated, no property had been damaged, and De Waal drive will be closed for most of the day.
18 replies on “Cape Town Ablaze!”
It has been such an eventful evening, I fear work tomorrow :(
There’s no way I can get back to sleep now, my rhythm is out of whack. I’m going to need a metric fuckton of coffee at work that’s for sure.
Agreed, I’ve not slept yet and don’t think I’m going to be able to :(
Mind you, it’s not right that those fire fighters are out there fighting whilst we sleep!
Fair enough. Some of those fire fighters are volunteers and I do feel for them but it’s their job to deal with this kind of thing. I don’t honestly know what you and I can do to help out.
Sad, I wonder how it started. aai tog !
@wrathex: Could have been bergies. Apparently two vagrants had sustained third degree burn wounds, but no official confirmation yet.
Thank goodness no-one died but i keep thinking about all the birds, snakes, tortoises, mice and dassies that couldn’t escape the fire. My head keeps filling up with images of their stiff, charred, bloated little bodies littering the ashen mountainside.
Does anyone know if the fields next to hospital bend were burnt? And what has happened to the zebras and wildebeesties and other bokkies there?
No mention of the animals in the news reports I’m afraid.
Geez, my CPT clients this morning was raving about this. Thanks for the pictures. Last time I was in CPT there was a fire with 2x heli’s assisting, and I thought that was huge, read on NEWS24 they are using 4x heli’s this time round.
What’s sad is I have not heard a report about this on JHB radio yet…
Ooh – pretty pix. And I think you live in a house I once tried to buy.
I went for the “damp squib” approach on my site – far too many gloriously exciting roaring fire pics elsewhere on teh interwebs.
@6000: It’s might be the house next door to mine – was it a shoddily-built double storey one that was owned by a doos called Reuben?
I’m Reuben. Thanks.
@6000: Lies!! You look nothing like Reuben.
@ Lucy Furr: All the zebra and wildebees are safe, according to TMNP.
Thank goodness :)
OK – fair enough.
Couldn’t resist.
Will pop up Barnham next time I’m towards town.
@6000: Schweet, we can have drinks on that patch of grass next to the house. The smell of all the dog shit could be problematic though…
@6000 Thank goodness that you’re not Reuben but more so thank goodness all the animals are OK.