Pringle Bay wildfires: Amidst arson suspicions, community resilience mirrors fynbos – Mayor Annelie Rabie

Firefighters have been battling raging fires in multiple areas of the Western Cape. The worst hit are Pringle Bay and Betty’s Bay, where the fires prompted precautionary evacuation notices. In an interview with BizNews, Overstrand Mayor Annelie Rabie recounted how overstretched firefighting teams in the area were as they battled fires in different locations. Rabie said it was the fire season and they are usually prepared for outbreaks, but she was not ruling out arson. Rabie mentioned that the fires that started on Tuesday ignited at six different points simultaneously. This meant that the fires began 120 kilometres apart, which severely stretched their resources. In another fire three to four weeks ago, she said there were signs that the fire was lit at different points in a circle. Rabie said she did not want to pre-empt the investigation and report that will come out, but, “We were promised that the Western Cape will be made ungovernable.” What stood out, she said, was how the community and surrounding areas rallied together and how firefighting services from as far as Cape Town answered the distress call from Pringle Bay. Thirty to forty farmers jumped in with their “bakkie sakkies” to help and work until late into the night. Regarding the source of some strife in coastal towns like Pringle Bay, the troop of 70 baboons, Rabie said, appeared to have all survived the wildfire, although some were injured.