Fire threatens Elandsberg Nature Reserve
On 27 January, a burnout of 11.5kms – from north to south borders of the Elandsberg Nature Reserve – was conducted to prevent the wild fires coming down the mountainside from getting into the reserve. But apart from some very scary moments, we managed to contain it. However, on 1 February, the wind blew a a spark across the firebreak into the endangered Geometric Tortoise habitat.
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Latest Update
2 February 2024
Under extremely windy conditions the fire, which had been quietly smouldering in the Elandsberg mountains, woke up and managed to throw a spark across the firebreak.The Elandsberg team, neighbours, Cape Nature, Cape Winelands District Muncipaliy and the Drakenstein Municipality all responded to the early morning call for help, but despite all the help over 500 hectares of tortoise habitat was burned in a few chaotic hours.
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Once the wind dropped, helicopters from Working on Fire and Leading Edge Aviation managed to put out the fireline still raging northwards through Voëlvlei dam and did strategic drops to save as much unburned veld as possible. Search and rescue efforts began immediately and yesterday afternoon over 60 tortoises had already been retrieved from the burned veld. This rescue effort wii continue today and we hope to collect as many tortoises as possible before the temperatures reach the predicted 40 *C, today. Active fire fighting efforts continue.
Elandsberg rangers and friends, as well as Bartholomeus Klip staff and guests took part in our efforts to rescue endangered Geometric Tortoises from wildfires in scorching 40°C conditions.
29 January 2024
The various teams (from Elandsberg, Cape Nature, Drakenstein and CWDM) worked like clockwork, the wind played along nicely, and the helicopters arrived at exactly the right time (before speeding off to fight more fires in the region).- While our thoughts are with the fire fighting teams still battling fires near Bain’s Kloof, the good news is that no animals (including tortoises) were harmed at Elandsberg, and that the fire has destroyed most flammable vegetation on the mountainside so we should be protected against wild fires for a couple of years from now. And of course we cannot wait to see all the amazing flowers that will come up after the rains
28 January 2024
From reserve manager Bernard Wooding : “We all heaved a sigh of relief when Sunday dawned and there had been no flare-ups that night.”
- “But we continued to patrol the line, put out burning stumps and found time for a well-deserved sundowner. The next day we marked and released the tortoises back into the wild, knowing they are safe from fires for a bit longer.”
26 January 2024
From our reserve manager: “Happy to report that the wind still blows in our favour. The head of the fire is now heading to Bainskloof and creeping up behind Bontebok Ridge.”-
Source: NCCWildfires
26 January 2024
Fire fighters had a very difficult night of firefighting following a change in the wind direction late yesterday afternoon. The fire which was situated in the Suurvlakte area split into two lines, one line on the Wolseley side of the Obiqua Mountain (also known as the Watervalberg) and another on the Wellington side.- The second fire on the Saron side of the mountain is due to the cooler weather of the night, moving a little slower and has a broken fire line. This fire is concerning as it is moving closer to the Elandsberg nature reserve which is an ecologically sensitive area. Fire teams from Robertson and Stellenbosch as well as fresh ground crews from NCC will be added to the existing teams. Very hot weather exceeding 40°C have been predicted for the day which will certainly impact on our ground and fire crew.
25 January 2024
The Cape Winelands District Municipality’s (CWDM’s) Fire Services can confirm that fire on the Suurvlakte/Silwerfontein side of the mountain above Wolseley continues to burn out of control.
Ground teams will continue with monitoring and mopping-up operations on all previously burned flat ground, specifically in the areas in Kluitjieskraal.-
On the Suurvlakte/Silwerfontein side, some gains were made last night. However, the very high fuel load provided by aged vegetation consisting mostly of large, established Bluegum trees, combined with changeable wind directions, uneven ground and high nighttime temperatures greatly hampers firefighting activities.
The CWDM Fire Services and partners will continue with active firefighting today, focusing on preventing the fire from spreading. Activities will be made difficult by the very hot, windy weather, in excess of 39°C that has been predicted.
