Franschhoek fights fire fearlessly
2010-02-11
Lise Beyers
THE picturesque town of Franschhoek was brought to a halt for four days this week, when a devastating fire crept down from the surrounding mountains, threatening homesteads and vineyards, and destroying more than 5000 hectares of veld. During this period of time the village was engulfed by a thick blanket of smoke, sending many tourists packing, in fear for their lives. Instead of the usual sight of tourists dining on kerb-side restaurants, the town was a ghost town on Monday and Tuesday. The fire reportedly flared up on Friday afternoon in the Assegaaibos forestry area above the Berg River Dam. Here workers of Working for Water (WfW) were clearing alien vegetation, when they allegedly started a fire to cook food. Due to the dry, windy and hot conditions, the fire rapidly swept through the area, spreading through the Jonkershoek and Hottentots Holland Mountains. On Monday evening the fire reached a peak, when the Excelsior-region, consisting of many luxurious homes, as well as the Le Franschhoek Hotel and Spa, came under direct threat of the flames. At that stage the mountain looked as if red-hot lava was pouring down its slopes. Firefighters and the police insisted that many of these houses be evacuated, but numerous residents refused to leave their homes, instead spending the night dousing their properties with water. But a sawmill in the vicinity, Bordeaux, was not so lucky. The flames engulfed a large woodpile on the property, destroying all in sight, as well as valuable equipment. On another farm a shed caught ablaze, and at Le Petit Ferme a small portion of vines were singed by the heat. Many farmers lost valuable irrigation equipment and piping on their lands. On Tuesday morning the fire still raged around the Three Streams Trout Farm and fire-fighters, who had been battling the fire for days, were still on high alert. The relatively minimal damage to property can be attributed directly to the collaboration of many residents and farmers in the area. Farmers sent out tractors with water carts to help property owners to contain the fire, while others assisted with the evacuation of homes.Volunteers busied themselves preparing food parcels for exhausted fire-fighters. Farm workers who fled their homes were accommodated in a church hall in town. Due to the thick blanket of smoke covering the area, the Franschhoek Pass was closed for two days because of poor visibility. This is not the first time that workers of Working for Water have been accused of negligence in the field. Working for Water is an upliftment programme of the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry, using impoverished local communities to eradicate invasive alien plants. WfW workers have also been blamed for a fire in the Rawsonville-area in January.
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