By Luvuyo Mjekula
Some residents in the area near PJ Olivier High School evacuated their homes earlier this week as fires fanned by strong winds threatened to reach the residences.
A number of residents of Rockridge Road were seen rushing their children and dogs out of their homes and into their vehicles to protect them from the thick smoke.
Grocott’s Mail spoke to a couple of the affected residents. “It’s very smoky, I’m just taking my baby out. There’s been no damage to the property, and we hope there will not be any.”
Another resident said the fire started at about 1pm. “We just saw like smoke. I was busy teaching a yoga class and there were like dogs inside the house. I don’t even know exactly what’s going on.”
Asked what she thought started the fire, the visibly frantic resident said it was probably due to the dry and windy weather in Makhanda.
She said her neighbours called the fire department.
“We are just hoping now that everything is going to be ok. I’m worried because this is my parents’ house.”
Firefighters were out trying to prevent the fire from spreading to residences.
Makana Resort’s workers also had their hands full battling to extinguish the fire that was quickly spreading onto the property.
The workers used buckets to fetch water from the only tap on the premises as well as a small pond.
Firefighters, placed strategically in areas like the back of PJ Olivier, were doing their best to fight the fire, despite the strong wind.
