Fire fighting efforts under scrutiny

AS RAIN swept across the Cape this week, it brought long-awaited relief to the charred slopes of Tokai, Noordhoek, Silvermine and surrounding areas.

- TRACY-LYNN RUITERS

With the fire finally contained, the focus is turning to the scale of the destruction, the extraordinary firefighting efforts, and growing public scrutiny around the City of Cape Town’s fire preparedness.

The blaze consumed over 2 800 hectares of Table Mountain National Park, much of it fynbos — a fire-adapted vegetation unique to the Cape. While this ecosystem will eventually regenerate, not all damage can be undone. Slower-moving wildlife, including tortoises, chameleons, and snakes, were especially vulnerable.

"The loss of life is hard to see," said Belinda Abraham of the Cape of Good Hope SPCA. "Unlike the fynbos, which will regenerate, these lives are lost forever."

Still, stories of survival brought some hope. SPCA teams, working closely with SANParks, have now covered nearly half of the burned terrain, relocating animals to untouched safe zones known as refugia. Among the rescues were two puff adders — one of them burned but recovering.

In a moment that rallied the public, Holly, a beloved family dog missing since the fires began, was found and reunited with her owner. “The fire took so much,” Abraham said. “But today it gave us a beautiful reunion.”