STEVEN MANN, Cape Town | Friday 8.45am
EXHAUSTED firefighters were breathing easier late on Thursday night, as the series of blazes which have devastated large areas of the city appeared to be under control.
“It’s pretty quiet. Everybody is on standby,” said Ian Schnetler of the joint operations control centre.
Fires were still burning at Constantia Neck, Simon’s Town, Silvermine and Glencairn, but did not pose a threat, he said.
With the one natural disaster under control, the spectre of another loomed: the possibility of mudslides. With virtually all vegetation having been completely destroyed on many mountain slopes there is nothing to contain the soil when the winter rains come.
Officials at the Cape Peninsula National Park estimated that about 30 of the protected natural environment has been burnt.
The government estimates the fires will cost it in the region of R20-million. The cost to the private sector is expected to run into billions of rand.
As Capetonians started tallying up the damage, politicians began arguing over who should shoulder responsibility for the fires getting out of control.
A debate on the matter is scheduled to take place in the National Assembly, during which Sydney Mufamadi, the local government minister, is expected to declare the Western Cape metropole a national disaster area.
This will free up more funds for relief efforts.