Firefighters, helicopter battle fire near St Francis Bay

Firefighters continue to battle a veld fire near St Francis Bay.

The fire started on Eskom land on Thursday and was revived by the change of wind — to a westerly direction — during the night, according to a statement by the Kouga municipality on Friday.

Municipal spokesperson Laura-Leigh Randall said the fire had not damaged any property or caused injuries.

“It still a veld fire and has not damaged any houses at the moment,” she said.

“There hasn’t been much change since this morning. Firefighters are still on the ground. We will provide an update when there's more.”

According to the municipal statement, a joint operations committee (JOC) was established to manage the fire south of the Oyster Bay Road near St Francis Bay.

“The JOC meeting was attended by representatives of the Kouga fire department, the disaster volunteer group (DVG), Eskom and the Sarah Baartman West fire protection association, as well as alderman Ben Rheeder.

“The DVG has committed to assist with manpower, food and water, as well as water tanks and firefighting equipment as need be, in support of the Kouga fire department,” the statement said.

In addition, Eskom has teams on the ground working on a fire break while a spotter plane and a Huey helicopter helped to douse the fire.

“We respectfully request that the public remain calm and await official information, which will be released as circumstances change.”

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