At least seven people have been killed in a raging fire along South Africa's popular Garden Route in the Western Cape province, officials say.A pregnant woman, two toddlers, and a baby are among the fatalities."The fire remains active on the slopes," Lauren Howard from Working on Fire said about their operation in the mountainous suburb.The Garden Route is a 300km (185 mile) scenic stretch of road popular with tourists.It is not clear whether any foreign nationals have been affected by the fires.George city officials say at least 200 residents have been moved to a hall and that three suburbs, housing"There will be food, a place to sleep and social services... the medical services are there to look at people who may be struggling to breathe. They will be referred to hospitals in the area," Brent-Styan from Western Cape Local Government Department said.A fire fighter pilot died last week after his helicopter went down in the Vermaaklikhei area along the Garden Route.The pregnant woman who was killed in the fire was eight months pregnant, Colin Deiner, head of Western Cape provincial disaster management services, told AFP news agency.Students from one campus of the Nelson Mandela University, situated at the foot of the Outeniqua Mountains near George were also evacuated, local media reported.Windy conditions are however complicating efforts to put out the fire which authorities blame on a heatwave sweeping across the Western Cape."The strong winds are our biggest problem at the moment and lightning is also causing more problems," Mr Deiner said. </s> Bushfires along The Garden Route in the Western Cape of South Africa have so far claimed eight lives and destroyed nearly 50,000 hectares of land, local authorities said Wednesday.

The Garden Route has been plagued by several bushfires since Oct. 24 when the first fire broke out in the Herold area, and the city of George 434 km (269 miles) east of Cape Town was forced to evacuate 200 residents. </s> At least seven people have been killed in a raging fire along South Africa’s popular Garden Route in the Western Cape province, officials say.

A pregnant woman, two toddlers, and a baby are among the fatalities.

“The fire remains active on the slopes,” Lauren Howard from Working on Fire said about their operation in the mountainous suburb in George city.

The Garden Route is a 300km (185 mile) scenic stretch of road popular with tourists.

It is not clear whether any foreign nationals have been affected by the fires.

George city officials say at least 200 residents have been moved to a hall and that three suburbs, housing more than 1,500 people, have been evacuated as a precaution.

“There will be food, a place to sleep and social services… the medical services are there to look at people who may be struggling to breathe. They will be referred to hospitals in the area,” Brent-Styan from Western Cape Local Government Department said.
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More than 400 firefighters have been battling the blaze 450 km (280 miles) east of Cape Town, which has so far burned over 16,600 hectares since last week.

A fire fighter pilot died last week after his helicopter went down in the Vermaaklikhei area along the Garden Route.

Working on Fire has been tweeting about its operations:

The pregnant woman who was killed in the fire was eight months pregnant, Colin Deiner, head of Western Cape provincial disaster management services, told AFP news agency.

Students from one campus of the Nelson Mandela University, situated at the foot of the Outeniqua Mountains near George were also evacuated, local media reported.

Windy conditions are however complicating efforts to put out the fire which authorities blame on a heatwave sweeping across the Western Cape.

“The strong winds are our biggest problem at the moment and lightning is also causing more problems,” Mr Deiner said. BBC </s> At least seven people have died in a raging fire in a rural community along the popular Garden Route in southern South Africa.

Western Cape Provincial Disaster Management Services announced on Monday that a baby and an eight-month-old pregnant woman were among the victims. .

Member of the Western Cape Local Government and Environmental Affairs Executive Council, Anton Bredel, said their present priority is to save lives and protect property.

Yesterday we stood at roundabout 16,600 hectares that we've lost. Today we had 48,000 hectares. So currently our first priority is to protect the public and our firemen and fire women working on the lines.

“Yesterday we stood at roundabout 16,600 hectares that we’ve lost. Today we had 48,000 hectares. So currently our first priority is to protect the public and our firemen and fire women working on the lines.We’ve looked at the Eskom lines so that we can have electricity and energy in our towns of Knysna, Oudtshoorn and George. So the teams are doing quite well. We have unfortunately lost eight lives, that’s very sad, because it’s still our first priority to save lives and to protect our infrastructure.”

Firefighters continued fighting the bonfire 450 km east of Cape Town. The raging fire that began last week has burned 16,600 hectares and led to the evacuation of three suburbs, where about 1,500 people lived. </s> CAPE TOWN - More evacuations may be ordered along the Garden Route.

Fires have ripped through parts of the region.

A blaze in the Outeniqua Mountains above George led to mass evacuations this week.

At the same time, the Environmental Affairs Department says alien invasive species need to be better controlled to prevent the major spread of wildfires.

A wildfire in the Garden Route has destroyed 48,000 hectares of vegetation; firefighters have been battling to contain the fire for the past week.

Eight people have been killed in the blaze while hundreds have been evacuated from their homes as the fire has spread.

The department’s Guy Preston said: “So this is one of the worst invaded areas in our country. People do need to take control of these situations, and protect their properties.” </s> Image copyright Working on Fire Image caption More than 400 firefighters have been battling the blaze 450 km (280 miles) east of Cape Town

At least seven people have been killed in a raging fire along South Africa's popular Garden Route in the Western Cape province, officials say.

A pregnant woman, two toddlers, and a baby are among the fatalities.

"The fire remains active on the slopes," Lauren Howard from Working on Fire said about their operation in the mountainous suburb in George city.

The Garden Route is a 300km (185 mile) scenic stretch of road popular with tourists.

It is not clear whether any foreign nationals have been affected by the fires.

George city officials say at least 200 residents have been moved to a hall and that three suburbs, housing more than 1,500 people, have been evacuated as a precaution.

"There will be food, a place to sleep and social services... the medical services are there to look at people who may be struggling to breathe. They will be referred to hospitals in the area," Brent-Styan from Western Cape Local Government Department said.

More than 400 firefighters have been battling the blaze 450 km (280 miles) east of Cape Town, which has so far burned over 16,600 hectares since last week.

A fire fighter pilot died last week after his helicopter went down in the Vermaaklikhei area along the Garden Route.

Working on Fire has been tweeting about its operations:

Skip Twitter post by @wo_fire Our Teams are currently active in George, Windmeulnek, Garcia Pass, Jonkersberg, Karatara, Grootvadersbos and Potberg.



Working on Fire Aerial Resources consisting of 2 Huey Helicopters, 2 fixed wing air tractor bombers & spotter plane, will be redeployed to attend to other fires pic.twitter.com/gu5WoPDdd2 — Working on Fire (@wo_fire) October 30, 2018 Report

The pregnant woman who was killed in the fire was eight months pregnant, Colin Deiner, head of Western Cape provincial disaster management services, told AFP news agency.

Image copyright Working On Fire Image caption Strong winds have been hampering operations to put out the fire

Students from one campus of the Nelson Mandela University, situated at the foot of the Outeniqua Mountains near George were also evacuated, local media reported.

Windy conditions are however complicating efforts to put out the fire which authorities blame on a heatwave sweeping across the Western Cape.

"The strong winds are our biggest problem at the moment and lightning is also causing more problems," Mr Deiner said. </s> JOHANNESBURG — A storm pummeled the coastline around Cape Town on Wednesday, unleashing heavy rains and high winds that fanned fires and forced evacuations. At least eight people were killed.

Many people in Knysna, a town on the scenic Garden Route east of Cape Town, fled as blazes tore through homes. An evacuated hospital was among the buildings that caught fire, and the main highway was closed, South African news outlets reported.

Clinton Manuel, Knysna’s fire chief, said his teams were struggling to contain the flames. “This wind is blowing very, very strong, causing the fire to spread extremely rapidly,” he said, according to the African News Agency.

The town’s mayor, Eleanore Bouw-Spies, described the fires as the worst in decades.

In and around Cape Town, four people died in a fire caused by lightning, three in another fire and one when a home collapsed, disaster management officials said. </s> At least nine people have been killed and thousands forced from their homes as Cape Town and surrounding areas were hit by the worst winter storm in 30 years. Millions of people living in shanty towns, who have previously had to cope with the region's worst drought in a century, have been hardest hit, with floods and heavy rain washing away homes built of planks and corrugated zinc sheets.

Victims included four people who died in a fire caused by lightning, three who died in another fire and one who was killed when a home collapsed. The storm is expected to dump more than two inches (50mm) of rain in some areas and trigger waves of up to 12 metres, the South African Weather Service said.

Strong winds are fanning multiple fires, which destroyed dozens of homes and also damaged an evacuated hospital and a school.

Officials say about 10,000 people were evacuated from a scenic coastal town that has been devastated by fast-moving fires.

Over two dozen fires were reported in the area, which are home to dense forests, providing plenty of fuel for the spread of wild fires.

Local media reported that the military plans to help emergency responders in Knysna, which lies on the Garden Route, a popular tourist destination on the southern coast. The town's mayor, Eleanore Bouw-Spies, said the fires were the worst in the region in decades. </s> Nine people have been killed in three separate fires in Cape Town's shack settlements between Friday night and Saturday morning, the city's fire and rescue services said.

A fire at the Mandela Park informal settlement near Hout Bay claimed two lives and was still burning at mid-morning on Saturday, said Layne.

Residents fled with their belongings from the narrow alleys between the corrugated iron houses to the safety of nearby tar roads, but two were trapped in the flames and died.

"There are going to be hundreds of people displaced," said Layne, adding that disaster relief teams were on their way to assist.

He said that they had battled to get close to the fire because people had been dumping their belongings in the road as they evacuated.

Western Cape Traffic spokesperson Kenny Africa said that the fire brigade had encountered hostility and had to withdraw at one point.

The fire was also reportedly spreading into the mountain above Hout Bay.

The fire broke out in the early hours of Saturday.

In Witsand informal settlement near Delft, a man, a woman, a little girl and boy died when a fire swept through there overnight.

In the Kosovo informal settlement a man, a woman, and a child died when their home went up in flames.

Kosovo was in the news in 2014 during a massive protest over the supply of portaloos for the community which was fed up with living conditions there.

Hout Bay residents have issued a call for donations of toiletries, food and clothes to be taken to collection points at the Oakhurst Spar and Victoria Road Spar, while the animal welfare organisation DARG is mobilising to help the residents' pets.

Layne urged people wanting to help to stay clear of the access roads to Mandela Park so that the fire and rescue vehicles can get through quickly.

News24
A fire along South Africa's Garden Route in the Cape Province, kills at least seven people.