Huge veld fire crosses border into East Cape
Huge veld fire crosses border into East Cape
01 September 2016
published by http://www.heraldlive.co.za
South Africa Firefighters and rescue workers have been battling a massive veld blaze in the Southern Cape that has now entered its sixth day and destroyed thousands of hectares of farmland and tree plantations.
Authorities said yesterday the fire, which started on a private farm near the Keurbooms River, had jumped the boundary from the Western Cape into the Eastern Cape.
By late morning, nine people had been evacuated from two farms by helicopter while several decided to remain and fight the blaze.
Authorities were discussing evacuation possibilities for other farms which were in the path of the fire yesterday afternoon.
The fire has destroyed between 40 000ha and 50 000ha of vegetation since Saturday.
The fire is believed to have been started as a controlled burn on a private farm which, due to berg wind conditions, became a runaway fire.
