Historic Roggeland farmstead damaged in wildfire crisis

STRONG WINDS

- MURRAY SWART [e-mail]

A RUNAWAY veld fire has ravaged part of the historic Roggeland farmstead near Paarl, forcing firefighters to spray foam on a thatched farmhouse in Bodal Road.

(AYANDA NDAMANE Independent Newspapers)

ANOTHER piece of Western Cape heritage has been damaged as an unrelenting wildfire season continues to keep firefighters across the Cape Winelands under intense pressure.

A runaway veld fire destroyed part of the historic Roggeland farmstead near Paarl at the weekend, adding to a growing list of properties and landscapes affected by fires in recent days following the major blaze that threatened Chamonix last Sunday.

Fire crews were called to a fast-spreading grass fire along Bodal Road, where flames quickly jumped to Roggeland, one of the oldest farmsteads in the Dal Josaphat Valley. By the time firefighters arrived, the first historic thatched house was already alight, with two more structures in the fire’s path.