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High winds fuelled Walker Bay/Stanford wildfire in Overstrand
A wildfire broke out in Stanford in Overstrand on 11 March 2022 at approximately 11h28. Incident commanders were Yulanda Scholtz assistant chief: Disaster Management and Angelo Aplon assistant chief: Operations and Training at Overstrand Fire and Rescue. The Incident management team included Unified Command Overstrand, Cape Nature and Overberg District Municipality Fire and Rescue Service. The fire burnt 2 351ha of fynbos and Rooikrans with dune fynbos and dense Rooikrans veld of around 15 to 25 years old. Fire fighting operations lasted eight days of 24-hour operational periods (12 hours days shift and 12 hours night shifts), which included three days of daytime operational periods only. Resources included Overstrand Municipality Fire and Rescue, Overberg District Fire and Rescue, CapeNature, Greater Overberg Fire Protection Association (goFPA), Working on Fire, Western Cape Government, Volunteer Wildfire Services, Enviro Wildfire Services, Cape Winelands Districts Municipality Fire and Rescue, Cape Winelands Fire Protection Association, Stellenbosch Municipality Fire and Rescue, Overberg Wildfire Volunteers, AfriFire, NCC, EMS, South African Defence Force, St John’s, Crow and neighbourhood watch and security companies.
A Code Red was declared on 13 March 2022 as the fire was out of control, posing an immediate threat to safety of people and structures. Households along the Wortelgat Road, as well as Die Koppe informal settlement near Stanford were asked to prepare for evacuation from their homes. A third helicopter was requested to provide wider aerial support. On 12 March 2022 at 15h45 an immediate evacuation order was issued for Stanford’s Die Kop and surrounding farms up to the Grootbos area due to the fire being out of control and spreading fast. The assembly point for Die Kop residents was the Stanford Community Hall. Medical services St Johns and the South African Defence Force were on standby and assisted with the evacuations. No structural damages occurred but there were damage to Eskom infrastructure causing a power outage in Gansbaai from Saturday to Tuesday morning. Electricity poles near Stanford sustained fire damage on Saturday, affecting the power supply from Stanford to Pearly Beach. The R43 was partially closed with only cars are allowed through due to the high voltage power line that was lying on the road. Eskom was on site to restore power and make road travel safe again. Other challenges faced included loose dune stand, lack of firebreaks, constant wind shift and 15 to 25 year-old veld. The origin of the wildfire is still under investigation. Sources: CFO Lester Smith, senior manager: Fire and Emergency Services, Disaster Management and Security Services at Overstrand Municipality; Riana Steenekamp, media liaison and social media officer, Overstrand Municipality |
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