Fires shut Ou Kaapseweg in Cape Town, visitors to Silvermine evacuated

A busy mountain road connecting the southern peninsula to the rest of Cape Town was closed by fires on Saturday, and visitors to the Silvermine area were evacuated.

Maxine Bezuidenhout, a spokesperson for the Cape Town Fire and Rescue Service, said Ou Kaapseweg was closed in both directions between Steenberg and Silvermine Road in Noordhoek.

“All agencies are on the scene,” she said.

Visitors to the Silvermine area - which had reached full capacity, according to Table Mountain National Park - were being evacuated as a safety precaution and ground crews from VWS Wildfire Services and Working on Fire were called in.

Four helicopters from the City of Cape Town and Working on Fire were dispatched to fight the fire.

Cape Town is experiencing its hottest day of the summer so far, with a temperature of 37ºC forecast for midafternoon.

The city's “Cape Doctor” — the south-easterly summer wind that often fans wildfires — is blowing only gently, however.

This is a developing story.

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