Firefighters contain several Western Cape wildfires, while other areas require aerial resources

Firefighters over the last week have had their hands full with at least 10 major wildfires reported across the province, many of which have been contained due to efforts by fire and emergency services.

As of 1pm on Monday, firefighters were still busy tackling the wildfire at the Swartberg Mountains, north of Oudemuragie, which, according to the Garden Route municipality, started late afternoon on the 11th of January 2026.

“CapeNature and Oudtshoorn Municipality Fire Brigade Services responded to this fire incident, and suppressed lower lying areas above the Oudemuragie farms. No infrastructure is impacted at the current time.

“Today's actions included the Garden Route District Municipality deploying a helicopter through the Provincial Disaster Management Centre, as well as deploying a ground firefighting team. CapeNature has extended on the aerial resources,” the municipality said.

“Crews were airlifted higher up the mountain to suppress accessible fire lines and to ensure that farming infrastructure to the north and northeast of the fire is protected.”

Meanwhile, roads that were affected by the Pearly Beach and Stanford fires have been reopened. The Overstrand Municipality said that the fire in Pearly Beach has been contained for now, with there being no active fire line.

“There was light drizzle early this morning. Firefighters are busy with monitoring, mop-up operations, and patrols. Crews on the Uilkraalsmond side are continuing with mop-ups.

“Stanford fire: Crews are busy with a backburn at De Koude Vlakte to contain the fire within a defined block. The backburn started in the early hours this morning along a line of approximately 9 km, and by 06:00 crews were about halfway through the operation. This is to ensure the fire is defined within the block and allowed to burn itself out safely in that area,” the municipality said.

“The perimeter remains very hot, and flare-ups are a high probability due to the rooikrans. Fire danger remains high. Although conditions are slightly cooler today and the wind has eased, the risk of fire is still very high.”

Western Cape Premier Alan Winde said that the Pearly Beach fire had been raging for more than a week, with 35 hectares already lost. He also added that the De Rust fire, in the Oudtshoorn area, appears to be in control.

He added that Genadendal and Greyton fires have been hard to reach, but the locals have been “involved in making sure that is contained and managed while it burns”.

The Theewaterskloof Municipality late on Monday said: “The fire is actively burning in the areas of Galg, Koeniesrivier, Goodhope and Retreat farms. Current conditions include strong winds, which are making firefighting efforts challenging, particularly in rocky and inaccessible terrain.

“Multiple ground crews, skid units, WOF (Working on Fire) teams and farmers’ resources are on-site. There is currently no risk to major infrastructure at this stage, but visibility is poor in some areas, and we ask people to remain vigilant,” the municipality said.

“The situation is being closely monitored, and teams will continue with observation and hotspot scanning. We thank all who have been working on the fires for the past week.”

Winde said that they are thankful for the firefighters and “every single resident of the province that is out there, in one way or another, making sure that we are protecting each other, we are fighting these fires”.

“Again, please be vigilant, make sure we don’t throw that cigarette stompie out the window. Make sure we are vigilant when we see any plume of smoke. If we get these fires out early, we can mitigate risk,” Winde said.

“Lots of people are saying there is arson, which also needs eyes. If you see anything suspicious, please report it.”

theolin.tembo@inl.co.za