As of Sunday morning, the Kouga fires were mostly under control. Cable thieves and arsonists have been blamed for thedevastating wildfiresthat wreaked havoc in the Kouga area in the Eastern Cape since Friday. Kouga Mayor Hutton Bornman alleges that two of the fires were started by cable thieves and another by arsonists, who deliberately set the veld on fire.
It is suspected that the cable thieves started the fires by burning the rubber off the cables in order to access the copper, Bornman toldENCA. He said the incidents would be thoroughly investigated and that cases would be opened at the local police station. In a statement issued on Sunday, the mayor said an additional area close to Linderhof was still burning.
Helicopters and fixed-wing aeroplanes were dropping water while ground teams were also battling the blaze. Things were calmer north of Humansdorp, where smoke still existed in small pockets and ground teams were making sure there were no further flare-ups. A team to monitor flare-ups was also stationed at Kabejjouws, where fires had been successfully extinguished.
