[UPDATE]: Cape Town fire – These roads are temporarily closed

These road closures have been put in place to divert traffic away from the raging Cape Town fire.

By / / News
cape town fire road clsoures

A hot and dry Sunday brought the worst for Cape Town after a raging inferno engulfed the southern suburbs‘ dense vegetative area.

Cape Town fire: What’s the latest?

According to reports, fire and rescue teams were alerted about the fire at approximately 08:45, when it was still gaining momentum around an area above Philip Kgosana Drive. Hours later, helicopter teams have been despatched with water bombs to drop on the trail of the inferno that has reached the upper side of Rondebosch.

“More resources are currently on their way to assist firefighting efforts. These include teams from Working on Fire and Table Mountain National Park,” City of Cape Town’s Fire and Rescue Services spokesperson Jermaine Carelse told IOL News.

Eyewitnesses and reporters on the ground watched on as the fire blazed past Rhodes Memorial, a heritage site that for the most part, has been reduced to ash.

Currently, all efforts have gone into containing the further spread of the fire towards the leafy south coast. Moreover, from what we understand, the University of Cape Town has successfully evacuated all of its students in the affected regions.

Here is the latest on the roads that have been temporarily closed due to the fire on Monday 19 April 2021:

  • Peppertree Road in Vredehoek, Cape Town, is inaccessible to traffic as evacuation procedures have been ongoing since Monday morning;
  • Chapman’s Peak Drive completely closed off to traffic due to high winds;
  • Phillip Kgosana Drive on M3 highway closed off between CBD and Hospital Bend;
  • All motorists using high-level roads between the city centre and southern suburbs are urged to practise extreme levels of caution and avoid driving where necessary.