Arson suspect arrested as firefighters continue to battle blazes in the south of Cape Town

A man was arrested by City of Cape Town law enforcement officials on Monday in connection with the fires raging in the city’s southern suburbs and deep south since the evening of Friday, 25 April.

The city’s mayoral committee member for safety and security, JP Smith, said the arson suspect was arrested after residents saw him walking with cans in Clovelly, where the mountain was ablaze.

The fires have been raging in the Tokai and Silvermine sections of Table Mountain National Park and spread to nearby suburbs including Tokai, Zwaanswyk, Noordhoek and Clovelly.

Fires burning above Lakeside. (Photo: Suné Payne)

Read more: People warned to steer clear of Cape Town blaze, crews focus on protecting homes

On Monday, the Lakeside fire station, which served as an operational hub for the distribution of supplies, was thronged with residents and volunteers sorting and distributing food, water and energy drinks to firefighters. More than 100 firefighters and volunteers have been battling the fires.

Ward councillor Carolynne Franklin (Democratic Alliance) said the fires were “Armageddon. It’s been absolutely dire… At one stage here, specifically, the fire surrounded us completely overnight ”

“People with emphysema and with asthma were starting to battle … people were keeping their pets inside. It was really dramatic, it was … like being in a war zone.”

The fire started on Friday evening, with fire crews responding to calls at around 9.30pm, alerting them to mountain slopes alight beneath the Elephant’s Eye cave in the Silvermine Nature Reserve, which then spread. Fire crews have been working around the clock to contain the fires.

Firefighters at the Lakeside fire station on Monday, 28 April. (Photo: Suné Payne)

Residents evacuated

On Sunday, fanned by strong winds, the fire spread further, and residents from the Noordhoek Manor retirement village were evacuated, including 48 frail-care residents.

At the Lakeside fire station on Monday, a volunteer, Mariel Davila Buys, said she had been visiting family when the fires started and knew that what was needed was central coordination. By 9am, she had a table set up, and soon word spread of where people could drop off donations for firefighters and volunteers.

Volunteer coordinator Mariel Davila Buys and ward councillor Carolynne Franklin. (Photo: Suné Payne)

Donations of water and food from the public and organisations, including Gift of the Givers, poured in, and children made and packed sandwiches. A medication station was set up.

Franklin said, “We’ve been here since early this morning. We have had hundreds of volunteers through here — we’ve had retailers, we’ve had corporates.

“We’ve had absolutely every single community organisation that you could want here, plus all of the city fire services and all of the volunteer firefighters as well. It’s been so heartening — it’s been ubuntu in action.”

Volunteers packed bags of supplies for firefighters. (Photo: Suné Payne)

However, she said, “Just the fear and panic has been huge — the cost to our wildlife is just … you can’t … there’s no quantum to that, no quantum to the amount of deaths that have occurred.

“Fire season should end at the end of March, but there is a lot of dry slash and fuel up on the mountain, unfortunately, and that seems to have aggravated the spread of the fire. With the climate change that’s upon us, fire season clearly is now becoming a lot longer, and yeah, the consequences of this one are dire.”

Helicopters have been dropping water bombs over the Tokai fires raging over the past two days. (Photo: Julia von Aspern)

The City of Cape Town’s Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson, Jermaine Carelse, giving an update at 6.30pm, said: “While the Tokai fire is not yet contained, the various fire services have made big inroads in subduing the blaze that started on Friday.”

Helicopters fought the fires until 6pm, when they were grounded because of poor light.

“An extensive area has been ravaged by this blaze, but currently no property or lives are in danger,” said Carelse. “The cooler evening weather and windless conditions have brought much-needed relief.

“Crews from the city’s Fire and Rescue Service, Table Mountain National Park, Nature Conservation Corporation and Volunteer Wildlife Services will remain on scene overnight to watch for hotspots and any flare-ups.”

SanParks said about 2,600 hectares of vegetation had been affected by the fires.

There was a continued concern “regarding the presence of cyclists in areas that have been closed off due to fire damage and ongoing firefighting operations”. DM