'It was like a movie' – Mossel Bay fire forces families to flee
Sporadic fires are raging in Mossel Bay
Image: SUPPLIED
Asthmatic Mossel Bay resident Sheena Mouton was wheezing as she grabbed her asthma pump and oxygen mask on Tuesday night, when a fire that had been burning on the other side of town suddenly raged in front of her home.
With the life-saving equipment in hand and her voice hoarse as smoke tightened her throat, she shouted for her children and visiting elderly parents to follow her as her husband started the car.
They then fled.
"It was something straight out of a movie, super scary," said Mouton, one of many residents who were forced to evacuate as the fast-moving fire leapt from one area to another, leaving razed cars and structures in its wake.
The fire, which broke out in a farming area adjacent to the N2 on Monday, has so far destroyed several properties and vehicles, and injured three firefighters and a young girl.
The blaze, which is now partially under control, also affected animals in the Western Cape holiday town.
The Garden Route SPCA said it had looked after three dogs, eight birds, and a tortoise.
The Hartenbos Animal Hospital temporarily also looked after eight cats and two birds.
Firefighters from Mossel Bay, supported by teams from the Garden Route District, Hessequa, and George municipalities, as well as volunteer groups, worked through the night and day to bring the blaze under control.
Churches and other faith-based organisations were desperately praying for the fires to stop.
Sheena Mouton and her family with plumes of smoke behind them
Image: SUPPLIED
However, the fire was still smoldering partially on the western flank in a farming area near Aalwyndal, a hard-to-reach kloof that posed accessibility challenges.
It is not spreading.
The northern flank near Aalwyndal, the eastern flank near Island View, and the southern flank along the N2 have been brought under control, with mop-up operations under way in some areas.
A rattled Mouton said she and her children were still shaken.
She said the fire had been raging on the other side of town early on Tuesday.
"But at first it still seemed manageable and we believed we were out of danger," the mother of two said.
"Then, all of a sudden, the wind picked up and the fire spread rapidly across the open field at the corner of Henning Street and Second Steynberg Street.
"I phoned a friend who also lives in the area and we kept updating each other."
When she looked again, the fire was literally in front of her house.
"It was at our window, so I grabbed my asthma pump because I am asthmatic, as well as my breathing equipment," Mouton, of Island View, said.
"We then gathered our two young sons, my husband and my parents, who were visiting us at the time.
"One of my children was screaming and crying."
She said her husband grabbed only his cellphone, her eldest, 14, took his bodyboard and flippers, and her youngest, 11, grabbed his Xbox and VR headset.
"We didn’t take anything else … no clothes, no nothing," Mouton said.
"My husband started the car and the kids and I got in and we drove … my parents drove ahead of us and got onto the N2 to head towards Gourits.
"However, when we tried to get onto the N2 as well, the road was closed.
"We couldn’t get to them and they couldn’t get to us. We eventually found a safe place and waited in the car."
A tired Mouton said she still hadn’t slept, nor had her husband.
"The boys managed to get some sleep in the car," she said.
"My older son understands what happened, but my youngest is still very scared.
"He has learning difficulties."
She said around 1am on Wednesday, they were finally able to return home.
"It was absolutely terrifying. The fire was all around us. It felt like something out of a movie."
Mossel Bay municipal spokeswoman Cornelle Carstens said aerial firefighting had been invaluable over the past two days, as crews faced challenging conditions including strong to gale-force winds and inaccessible terrain in Aalwyndal, Island View, and Vogelsang in Vakansieplaas.
"Aerial resources deployed included two helicopters, one waterbomber airplane and one spotter airplane, under the command of the Garden Route District Municipality.
"Various water sources in the area – including swimming pools, dams, and rivers – were also used to fight the fire," she said.
Carstens said active multi-agency firefighting continues in Aalwyndal and surrounding areas, with crews attending to flare-ups and placing resources strategically to manage them.
Wind gusts and inaccessible terrain continue to complicate containment, she said, and aerial resources remain deployed to strengthen containment efforts.
Further precautionary evacuations have been carried out, including moving elderly residents and nursing staff to ATKV Hartenbos.
Carstens said one civilian injury, a child, has been reported in Vakansieplaas, but no other serious injuries have occurred.
Several animals, both wildlife and domestic, have been rescued and are receiving care, she said.
Additional volunteer resources, including concrete mixers and graders, have been deployed to assist firefighting and fire break operations.
Access control has been implemented in Island View, with road-users asked to follow instructions from traffic and law enforcement officials.
Mossel Bay municipality ask residents to rely only on official municipal channels for updates.
Authorities said firefighting and evacuation efforts continued, with volunteers, Working on Fire, Mossel Bay, and Garden Route District fire crews actively engaged in containment, mop-up operations, and protecting lives and property.
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