A veld fire on Wednesday afternoon threatened to engulf Clarens near Golden Gate in the eastern Free State, Working on Fire (WoF) said.
Roelof Geyser, Free State manager of WoF, issued a fire alert at 4pm saying firefighters were battling to control a blaze threatening to engulf the town.
Geyser said WoF had deployed a number of firefighting teams.
”A WoF helicopter has been summoned from Vryheid and the South African Air Force has sent an Oryx helicopter from Bloemfontein to assist ground crews by dropping water to cool the fire,” he said.
The fire threatening Clarens had started near Fouriesburg on Tuesday.
Geyser said the fire was under control and almost out when it flared up again on Wednesday morning during windy conditions.
He said temperatures in the area were extremely high. If the wind died down, firefighters would have a better chance of containing the fire.
It is estimated that between 8 000ha and 10 000ha of veld have been burned.
A Working on Fire firefighter was injured on Tuesday while battling a blaze near Fouriesburg in the eastern Free State. — Sapa