OWN CORRESPONDENT, Cape Town | Tuesday 10.15pm.
WESTERN Cape fire chiefs suspect that arsonists could be behind some of the 120 fires that have destroyed thousands of hectares of veld, wine farms and dozens of homes in the region since the weekend.
Firefighters battled from early on Sunday until late on Monday to bring most of the fires under control, The Star newspaper reported.
In Hout Bay, one house was gutted, and four were partially burnt, while in Langa, 40 shacks were destroyed.
Fires in Scarborough and Noordhoek — coastal spots south of Kommetjie towards Cape Point — were under control early on Tuesday morning.
Raging fires which ravaged large areas near Stellenbosch and Tulbagh in the Boland over the weekend are mostly under control, having destroyed thousands of hectares of bush and vegetation.
Near Klipheuwel on the N7, vast stretches of veld and rooikrans were burning for the third day in a row.
Wine estates on the slopes of Simonsberg mountains near Stellenbosch suffered millions of rands in damage.
These included estates famous for their export red wines, such as Kanonkop, Uitkijk, Delheim and Muratie.
Delheim, where about 120ha of pine plantations and about 20% of vineyards were destroyed, appeared to be the worst hit of the wine estates.