Home » Firefighters Battle Fire in Banhoek Valley, near Stellenbosch, through the Night

Firefighters Battle Fire in Banhoek Valley, near Stellenbosch, through the Night

Fire crews are battling #BanhoekFire flames through the night in Banhoek Valley, near Stellenbosch,South Africa. Volunteer Wildfire Services (VWS) posted a message just before midnight on Sunday saying their crew is safely down for the night. “Great job under tough conditions today. Good luck to the fire crews still out there tonight. Fresh crew departs […]

21-11-16 01:26

Fire crews are battling #BanhoekFire flames through the night in Banhoek Valley, near Stellenbosch,South Africa.

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Photo by Andrew Hagen. Source: FB/VWS

Volunteer Wildfire Services (VWS) posted a message just before midnight on Sunday saying their crew is safely down for the night.

“Great job under tough conditions today. Good luck to the fire crews still out there tonight.
Fresh crew departs at dawn. Thank you for your continued messages of support,” said VWS.

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Photo by Miriam Mannak. Source: FB/VWS

Aerial support (“a spotter, chopper and bomber”) was stood down at sunset, and brave firefighters are continuing to try to suppress the blaze, hoping that cooler weather overnight may help.

The fire has spread into the forest areas of Botmaskop and VWS said earlier “not good news as the fires creeps over in hard to work places for ground crews”.

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Photo by Miriam Mannak, taken from Cape Town city centre. Source: FB/VWS

The fire has been causing smoke over Somerset West and Gordon’s Bay.

It’s been a busy weekend for firefighters with Calendon Fire and Red Hill Fire.