Cape firefighters on alert

Scorching temperatures across the province are keeping firefighters and other emergency personnel on their toes and on high alert.

Firefighters at the 29 fire stations in the metropole have been warned to remain ready in case they have to rush out to tackle major fires, and more than 100 seasonal firefighters have also been called in.

They are to remain on high alert for the week.

Yesterday the extreme temperature, which peaked at 35°C in the city, resulted in scores of people participating in a walk being treated for dehydration while a woman had to be rescued at St James Beach.

Firefighters were also kept busy battling blazes.

The hot conditions are expected to persist and remain in the high 20s and early 30s throughout the week: "All fire stations in the metropole have been opened and have all their resources in place. Seasonal firefighters have also been deployed," the city's Disaster Risk Management Centre spokesman, Wilfred Solomons-Johannes, said yesterday.

He said the weather service had warned of "extreme heat conditions and heatwaves" across the Cape Metropole, Boland and West Coast. Lynette van Schalkwyk, a forecaster, said "a very sunny, warm week with a strong south-easter" was predicted, and a high fire danger was expected to continue for "basically the whole week".

To try and prevent the development and spread of fires, Solomons-Johannes said no open fires were to be lit across the metropole.

He urged residents to stay indoors or in the shade and to "consume ample water" while the hot conditions continued. Scores of participants in the Jive 10km Big Walk were yesterday treated for dehydration. Mahmood Sanglay, the event's spokesman, said four people were also treated for minor cardiac problems.

The Cape Town Fire Command and Control Room also received reports of a woman who had to be rescued in the water at St James Beach.

Early yesterday a blaze broke out in Site B, Khayelitsha, razing 30 shacks and leaving at least 50people homeless.

In about seven hours yesterday the Cape Town Fire Command and Control Centre dispatched teams to at least 15 grass fires.

"We're getting very busy," said Winston Davids, a senior emergency communicator.

Cape Winelands and Overberg firefighters also tackled a number of grass fires.

Meanwhile, residents across the province struggled to keep cool yesterday.

"It's a killer. It's actually unbearably hot ... I'm not joking.'
"I went outside just for a few minutes and there was perspiration on the sides of my nose, Phillippa Butler, a Paarl hotel manager, said yesterday. The temperature there had soared to above 43°C.

In Clanwilliam the temperature also peaked at 43°C and scores of residents tried to cool down in the Clanwilliam Dam. Malmesbury residents also tried to cool down in pools to escape the 39°C temperature. "It's like the desert it's so hot," Patricia Solomons, a resident and owner of Riverlands Coffee and Bites, said.

Cape Town beaches were also full as people escaped the heat.

- Cape Times