19 Apr Cape Town fire continues in mountain slopes

Over 300 firefighters have been fighting a fire on the slopes of a mountain near Cape Town in South Africa for two consecutive days, as at least one area’s residents were evacuated during the night.

Five firefighters have been injured, and two were taken to the hospital, the city’s Emergency Services spokesperson Jermaine Carelse confirmed.

The wildfire on the mountain slopes near the seaside town of Simon’s Town, approximately 25 miles south of Cape Town, had threatened houses, but the threat was narrowly averted, according to Carelse.

He added that only one abandoned building on the grounds of a nearby South African navy base had been damaged.

Residents were evacuated from the area most at risk shortly before 1 am local time as a precaution, he said. Three helicopters continued to scoop up water from the ocean and drop it on the fire.

Firefighters worked to put out the fire for most of Tuesday and overnight, but it continued to burn.