Firefighters battle four blazes in Paarl valley during extreme heat

Fire crews battled four separate blazes across the Paarl valley in the space of just two hours on Sunday, as soaring temperatures and dry conditions pushed the region’s fire season into overdrive.

The incidents, reported on Sunday, February 15, stretched from Sonstraal Road to Paarl North and the Simondium area, keeping private and municipal responders scrambling between flare-ups.

The first fire broke out along Sonstraal Road on a farm estate, where flames allegedly started on the road shoulder before spreading into vegetation and palm trees. The property had previously lost its main building in a similar blaze years ago, which has yet to be rebuilt.

DFW Fire & Rescue NPC said its control room received the alert immediately and had a 6 000-litre tanker and three cruisers on scene within seven minutes.

“In minutes the scenario deteriorated into an inferno, but luckily the controller received the call just as it happened and literally seven minutes later we had one major tanker and three cruisers on site,” the organisation said.

A 120-metre hose line from the 6 000-litre tanker was deployed to protect the manager’s house and suppress the advancing flames. While a small outbuilding’s roof was lost, crews managed to prevent a repeat of the earlier devastation.

Two cruisers from Drakenstein assisted at the scene. Once Cape Winelands District Municipality fire services arrived and the situation was stabilised, DFW handed over command shortly after 1.15pm.

But the Sonstraal blaze was only the beginning.

Within two hours, three more fires were reported — one in farm fields and forest in Paarl North, another in the Simondium area south of town, and a flare-up again on Sonstraal Road. Both private DFW crews and Cape Winelands District Municipality teams responded across the valley.

Describing conditions in its control room, DFW said: “Today, again a madhouse in the control room. Four fires in a matter of two hours and scattered all over the valley.”

The organisation said long-range zoom cameras positioned in the Old Du Toitskloof Pass mountains helped pinpoint smoke plumes, while alerts were relayed via its private radio network and multiple WhatsApp groups linking hundreds of members and responders.

“Once a fire gets reported, the authorities respond — but is it sufficient? Under windy conditions or with a large fuel load, the situation deteriorates or changes within minutes,” DFW said, warning that veld fires can rapidly become structural threats.

With temperatures forecast to climb even higher in the coming days, responders warned that pressure on resources is likely to intensify as the valley remains on high alert.

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Cape Argus