Cape Town fire latest: Residents can return home as damage is assessed

With the Cape Town fire now declared under control, the time has come for the City and residents affected by the devastating blaze to assess the significant damage incurred over the past three days. 

Evacuated residents and students from the University of Cape Town (UCT) are now being urged to begin returning to their homes and residences (the latter of which under the guidance of the university) and assessments have begun to determine the extent of the damage to infrastructure around the affected areas. 

Firefighting efforts continue in areas including Deer Park and the Disa Park towers in Vredehoek, with crews in position to monitor possible flare-ups, but the City’s Fire & Rescue Services’ Jermaine Carelse said no homes are in immediate danger.

He has however urged the public to stay away from areas where fire crews remain poised to tackle any further threat. 

Cape Town fire causes significant damage  

In an update provided by the City of Cape Town’s Disaster Risk Management team on Tuesday 20 April, it was announced that coordinated efforts have begun to pick up the pieces after the blaze tore through several buildings and large parts of the Table Mountain Nature Reserve. 

“The City’s Disaster Risk Management Centre has coordinated joint damage assessments in order to initiate repairs to the roadways and other City infrastructure damaged by the Rhodes Memorial fire,” they said, adding that Solid Waste Management has been activated to clear the fire debris. 

They said that the Electricity Department has advised that no major damage has occurred to the medium voltage infrastructure, however the overhead lines to affected buildings have been damaged. 

Evacuated residents permitted to return home  

Several road closures remain in place, but Philip Kgosana Drive outgoing and all links to Philip Kgosana outgoing at Roeland street have been reopened. 

Disaster Risk Management said that the Environmental Health Service is doing ongoing water sampling at the Molteno Reservoir “to ensure that any ash from the fire does not affect the water quality”. 

“During the course of the last night, residents who were evacuated were given the go-ahead to return to their homes,” they said.  

“The DRMC would like to thank the Neighbourhood Watches for assisting us with the evacuation call. This is a clear indication that working with DRM Volunteers and Neighbourhood watches strengthens resilience in a major incident.”