Nearly 200 households were evacuated from neighborhoods near Table Mountain after a wildfire broke out Friday in Cape Town, authorities said.
“As a precautionary measure, Disaster Risk Management assisted with evacuating 198 households from Noordhoek Manor, including 48 frail care residents. The residents of Barnyard and Silwersteen have decided to evacuate,” said Jermaine Carelse, spokesperson for Cape Town’s Fire and Rescue Service.
The fire, which swept through largely inaccessible areas of the mountain, prompted officials to urge hundreds of families to leave their homes to avoid danger. At least 100 firefighters were deployed to battle five separate fire fronts, with evacuations ordered in Steenberg Estate, Zwaanswyk, and Noordhoek Manor.
The blaze began Friday in the Tokai area. By Monday morning, no new flare-ups had been reported, Carelse said.
The cause of the fire remains unknown. One firefighter was reported injured, and authorities said an investigation into the origin of the fire is underway.