[Update] Cape Town’s burning, again: #DeerParkFire trends on social media

devils peak #deerparkfire cape town miriam mannak twitter

Update: 17 January, 9am SAST: Last night’s #DeerParkFire is all but extinguished on Devil’s Peak, after firefighters worked throughout the night to quell the blaze.

Residents this morning could see choppers water-bombing areas of the mountain, behind Disa Park. Capetonians also woke to thick smoke and, closer to the affected area, a thick film of ash and soot.

Original article: We wish that we didn’t have to write another story about our city burning, but Cape Town is on fire yet again. This time, a fire that seemingly started near Dear Park at the base of Table Mountain, is slowly creeping up Devil’s Peak.

Smoke was first spotted rising from Deer Park on Monday around 7pm SAST. By 10pm, the blaze was clearly visible as a red streak from the city centre.

According to reports, emergency services are currently on the scene, while social media is inundated by citizen journalists capturing the scene.

The blaze is currently (Tuesday 1am SAST) tracking its way behind the Disa Towers (affectionately known by some as the Pepper Pots), filling central Cape Town with smoke.

While some residents have evacuated voluntarily, there has been no official notice from officials of a mandatory evacuation at the time of writing. Additionally, there has been no reported damage to property.

At the time of writing, the #DeerParkFire is slowly creeping up Devil’s Peak with strong winds fanning the blaze

Last Friday, a blaze broke out on Cape Town’s Signal Hill, which also became one of the weekend’s biggest social media talking points for Capetonians. A 14-year-old was identified as a suspect in a case of arson.

At present, there’s no indication from authorities that arson is to blame for the Deer Park fire.

Earlier this month, a fire also broke out in Somerset West.

Developing story…

Live updates:

Follow live update from users and authorities on Twitter of the fire below:


Feature image: Miriam Mannak via Twitter

Andy Walker, former editor
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