Firefighters battle flames on Signal Hill

Cape Town firefighters were still battling late on Thursday afternoon to control a veld fire on the slopes of Signal Hill above the city.

Spokesperson Theo Lane said shortly after 5pm that the fire, fanned by a strong south-easterly wind, was burning on two fronts, above Military Road and above High Level Road.

The department had numerous vehicles on the scene, and two helicopters were being used to waterbomb the flames. No property had been damaged.

Earlier, city fire chief Ian Schnetler said there had been several fires on the hill during the day.

The first report, at 10.38am, was of a fire on Military Road.

“We sent three fire engines to the scene and the fire was extinguished at 2.25pm,” he said.

At 12.40pm another fire broke out near High Level Road.

Six fire engines and eight other support vehicles were dispatched.

That fire was brought under control soon after 2pm, but firefighters were by mid-afternoon still trying to extinguish the fire.

There was no damage to surrounding property.

Around 3pm another two fires—the fires described by Lane—started on the hill.

The South African Weather Service earlier this week issued a red fire alert for the Cape Metro.—Sapa