There's a lot of smoke coming across #Grahamstown right now but that doesn't mean the fire has got worse – it's just that the wind has changed direction, Makana Fire Chief William Welkom told Grocott’s Mail this afternoon.
There's a lot of smoke coming across #Grahamstown right now but that doesn't mean the fire has got worse – it's just that the wind has changed direction, Makana Fire Chief William Welkom told Grocott’s Mail this afternoon.
The fire that started around 3.45pm on Thursday on the west side of the N2 and went in the direction of Stone Crescent and the Highlands road is now burning on top of the mountain above Aucklands.
"But we extinguished a whole section on the N2 side of the poort."
Two hours ago a section that had been under control flared up again on the Highlands road.
For the first time this was a section the Makana fire teams were able to reach and they extinguished it.
Makana Fire and Rescue Services are monitoring both the Highlands road and the N2 sides of the fire – particularly keeping an eye on the Aucklands homestead and the Banfield home at the start of the Highlands road..
It's still burning mostly in areas they can't reach, and their main priority is to protect property and lives.
The other challenge is that the wind keeps changing direction.
"On Thursday at 10pm I was quite satisfied that the fire was under control," said Welkom. "There was one section in the kloof that we tried to bush-beat, but it flared up again and the wind took it up the mountain.”
Right now the fire is burning on top of the mountain behind Aucklands, toward the wind turbines.
It flared up again this morning in strong winds.
The good news is no property or human lives are in danger at the moment, Welkom says.
sue@grocotts.co.za
