Standing in a field dotted with blackened spots of ash and scorched earth, Nelson Mandela Bay’s deputy mayor told residents in a video that the veld fires that tore through their city this week were finally under control.
Fed by hot, dry and windy conditions, the runaway vegetation fires had firefighters on their toes the past few days, as they battled to contain blazes that broke out across large swathes of the metro.
As previously reported, several areas were affected, including Westering, Booysens Park, New Brighton, Sidwell, Motherwell and Summerstrand, where fires forced closures of parts of the N2 and blanketed neighbourhoods in thick smoke.
In the video taken at the Sherwood area, Gary van Niekerk said small patches of smouldering fires were still being attacked.
“As you can see behind me, the fires had been brought under control in this area,” a sweaty Van Niekerk said.
“But I can also tell you that in the bushes you’d find our fire vehicles still trying to get other fires under control.”
He said other fires were still smouldering in a string of areas including Gqeberha’s Victoria Drive and St Albans.
This comes after days of smoke and fear across the metro.
In a statement, the metro said on Friday: “The Nelson Mandela bay municipality is pleaded too inform residents that fires have been ravaging the metro this morning are all under control.
“However, sites remain smoldering and fire teams are still on the ground, actively dampening hotspots.”
Many areas are still without water after the Elandjagt and Churchill Water Treatment Works plants lost power due to veld fires raging in neighbouring Kouga.
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