SANParks: Lion’s Head weekend fire will delay hiking trail’s reopening

The grand reopening of Lion’s Head’s popular hiking trail frequented by selfie-seekers has been postponed following the wildfire which ravaged the peak on Sunday.

The blaze, which burned for much of the day and through into Monday, is now largely under control. However, South African National Parks board (SANParks) today tweeted that it caused damaged to the peak’s infrastructure.

Infrastructure on Lion's Head has been damaged and this will delay the reopening of Lion's Head. The reopening was originally scheduled for the 15th of February 2019. As yet the park is unable to determine a new date for the reopening of Lion's Head. pic.twitter.com/bo61g9c6aF

— SANParks (@SANParks) January 28, 2019

“Infrastructure on Lion’s Head has been damaged and this will delay the reopening of Lion’s Head,” the national parks board tweeted on Monday.

“The reopening was originally scheduled for the 15th of February 2019. As yet the park is unable to determine a new date for the reopening of Lion’s Head.”

The trail was shuttered to the public in November 2018 for a planned six week maintenance period.

“This project will only be able to resume once the park has confirmation from the Fire Incident Commander that the area is safe to access,” SANParks added.

The board has also requested that hikers stay clear “of the area” while mop up operations continue. This included Signal Hill Road, a public access road leading to Signal Hill’s viewpoint and the beginning of the Lion’s Head trail.

SANParks hasn’t yet confirmed the revised date that the popular hiking trail will reopen.

Feature image: Meraj Chhaya via Flickr (CC BY 2.0)