More than 100 firefighters employed by the Cape Winelands District Municipality (CDWM) are geared up to battle blazes in the district during the annual fire season.
But municipal fire service officials are calling on communities to play their part in fire prevention, education and reporting as well. Fire season officially started in the Western Cape on Saturday 1 November, and will run until 30 April 2026.
However, fire season in the district seemed to have an early onset, with CDWM Fire Services responding to 112 fire calls throughout October alone.
“Although only three of these were larger fires – in Drakenstein, Witzenberg and on the border of the Langeberg and Overberg – that ran over a few days. The total number of hours worked was 1 099-man hours, spent fighting fires and a total of 170 777 km travelled by a variety of fire vehicles,” said Jo-Anne Otto, deputy director of communications for the CDWM.
Otto further confirmed no extensive damage to property or crops were reported during October.
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During the 2024-’25 fire season (1 November 2024 to 30 April 2025), firefighting efforts within the CWDM boundaries amounted to:
- Aerial support flew for 130 hours at a fee of R50 000 per hour.
- In total the CWDM, invested just over R6 500 000 in aerial resources.
- Total number of fires attended to: 1 110
- Hours spent in active firefighting: 110 778
- Total kilometres travelled: 427 524 km
HANDS ON DECK
The CDWM Fire Service is responsible for fire prevention and fighting across five municipal areas: Stellenbosch, Drakenstein, Breederivier, Langeberg and Witzenberg.
A total of 54 full-time firefighters are employed by CDWM, while a further 58 reservists have been appointed on contract for the summer season, bringing the municipal firefighting personnel tally across the five municipal areas to 112.
But Wayne Josias, chief fire officer at CWDM, says: “No fire is won by one individual. Success, and the protection of lives and livelihood is due to the combined efforts made by an integrated team of knowledgeable, well-equipped, suitably trained and dedicated people working together in a disciplined way.”
This mantra is evident in the number of firefighting partnerships in which the CWDM has engaged. In the event of a large fire, resources and teams from the neighbouring municipal area is called in to assist in extinguishing efforts, Otto added.
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Furthermore, the municipality entered into service contracts with several public and private service providers that not only supports efforts with manpower, but also other necessary resources such as aerial support and on-the-ground management of teams.
These service partners include the NCC Group, CapeNature, the provincial Disaster Risk Management Centre, Winelands Fire Protection Association, local municipalities, Volunteer Wildfire Services, and the Montagu Volunteer Fire group.
“Importantly, besides these partnerships, the CWDM Fire Services are reliant on the services of local and provincial traffic departments and other emergency services as well,” Otto pointed out.
HUMAN INFLUENCE
Within the CWDM, majority of fires which breakout are veld and wildland infernos, Otto related. “According to recent statistics by CapeNature, around 93% of veldfires are caused by humans; the other 7% are caused by lightning, falling rocks that cause a spark and naturally occurring situations,” she said.
“The vast majority of fires in wildland and veld are caused by socialising in areas where there are no facilities. There are many areas in the district which people visit for its natural beauty, but there are often no braai facilities. It is illegal to make a fire where no facilities are available, even more so on hot summer days. People are advised to rather pack a picnic instead of a braai.”
In the case of venues with braai facilities, Otto said people often do not properly extinguish braai fires or leftover coals, which can lead to embers being picked up by the wind and eventually igniting nearby dry brush.
“The braai fire needs to be extinguished using water and sand. There should be no warmth from the braai at all.”
PLAY YOUR PART
Otto said another concern experienced last year, is children being left to play with matches without any form of supervision or making a small fire as part of a game in velds near their homes. “This is very dangerous as it takes only takes the smallest flame to set alight dry veld,” she added.
“Parents need to assist by informing their children that playing with matches can destroy not only their own, but many other people’s homes.”
CWDM called on all residents of the district to assist in fire prevention and mitigation. Otto said when a fire starts, anyone can and must report the blaze to their closest authority.
If these fires are in the Cape Winelands, you can report these sightings around-the-clock by calling 021 887 4446 or sending a WhatsApp message and location to 073 534 7617.
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