Overstrand mayor Archie Klaas said God’s intervention was now desperately needed to bring an end to the fires wreaking havoc on the region.
“I ask everybody to ask for God’s intervention so that these fires be put off and our lives go back to normality,” Klaas said as worn-out firefighters still had their hands full on Friday morning, with two active fires burning at Pearly Beach and Stanford.
The fires have flattened four structures, including two homes.
It also destroyed thousands of hectares and an electricity pole behind the Eluxolweni Sewage Plant, though power supply remains stable.
Kilometres of Wi-Fi infrastructure were damaged in the blaze and have since been repaired.
The Pearly Beach fire, now in its sixth day, has destroyed roughly 15,292ha since it was first reported, Klaas told .
Asked if the fires were started deliberately, Klaas said: “We do not know as yet … an investigation is under way.”
It continues to burn intensely across farmland and mountainous terrain, spreading toward Elim.
The remains contained in certain areas from Eluxoweni to the caravan park.
Along Pearly Beach Main Road toward CapeNature property, the fire raged toward Walker Bay Nature Reserve but stopped at an old fire line.
At Stanford, about 3,174ha have burned since Wednesday.
The fire is still out of control and moving east after passing Panthera Africa, fanned by strong winds.
The Tesselaarsdal fire along Mountain Falls, which started just before Christmas, continues to burn within its perimeter, with occasional flare-ups caused by the wind.
Overstrand Fire and Rescue is leading firefighting operations, supported by neighbouring municipalities and a range of specialised teams.
These include law enforcement, security and traffic services, provincial traffic, GoFPA, Working on Fire ground teams, and Kishugu Aviation aerial resources.
Municipal teams from Swartland, Drakenstein, Stellenbosch, Cape Winelands, and the City of Cape Town have also joined the efforts.
The R43 between Stanford and Gansbaai remains open, as does the R43 from Uilkraalsmond to Pearly Beach.
Stop-and-go traffic is in place on Pearly Beach Main Road, Pearly Beach Gravel Road, and the R43 between Pearly Beach and Buffeljags, with intermittent closures to manage the flow.
Power supply to Pearly Beach and some farms in Gansbaai has been restored after outages caused by the fires.
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