Hundreds flee South African wildfires

Hundreds of firefighters are battling wildfires in South Africa's southwestern coast region.

Wildfires are raging in the Cape Town area on South Africa's southwestern coast, prompting hundreds of people to leave the area, media reports say.

Hundreds of firefighters were battling flames fanned by strong winds on Monday, pledging to protect residential areas.

Four buildings, two of which had thatched roofs, were reported to have been damaged.

A luxury tourist lodge in the Table Mountain National Park was also engulfed by flames, but no one was hurt, a representative of the lodge was quoted as saying.

The extent of the damage was being assessed.

Residents of a home for the elderly who had been moved out were being allowed to return, according to the website News24.

No injuries were reported.

Firefighters were using about 30 vehicles and several helicopters.

Some of the areas in flames were only accessible on foot, making it likely that the fires could only be contained on Tuesday, according to broadcaster eNCA.

The cause of the fires was not immediately known.


Share
1 min read

Published

Updated

Source: AAP

Tags

Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world
Hundreds flee South African wildfires | SBS News