Fires rage in the Overberg region near Cape Agulhas. Picture: Facebook / Overstrand municipality. The Overberg municipality is bracing for another day of firefighting while mopping up operations continued further up the coast.
Both the Mossel Bay and Overberg municipalities held briefings late on Thursday night to update their communities of the day’s events and plan for Friday’s possibilities. Weather forecasts for the Overberg region suggest difficult conditions to come, with Mossel Bay reporting that “all flanks are covered” as of Thursday night. As of 8pm on Thursday, roughly 37 000 hectares of land had been affected by the fire north west of Cape Agulhas.
This included areas from Pearly Beach to Wolvengat, extending to areas near Bredasdorp and as far north as Standford and Salmonsdam. The fire also spread in theAgulhas National Parkwhere structure protection measures were successfully implemented. The municipality stated that limited containment had been reached but that heavy smoke and wind made the use of aerial resources difficult.
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We are awaiting feedback from the farmers, including Beloftebos to report their damages,” “We are expecting the fire to grow in size due to a forecasted wind direction change that will push the active lines back to unburnt areas,” the municipality stated. The area was still on high alert and the municipality asked residents to check their routes before leaving as many roads were unsafe for travel. The wind picked up near Mossel Bay on Thursday, causing several flare-ups, although less than the previous evening.
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