On Tuesday, 18 January 2022, the Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Ms Barbara Creecy will visit the Kleinmond area following the fire which destroyed 5 417ha of vegetation and left one structure burnt.

Last week Minister Creecy announced that in the interest of public accountability, the Director-General of the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) has asked the Acting CEO of SANParks to undertake an assessment of the fire. The visit tomorrow will give Minister Creecy a glimpse of the extent of the damages caused by the fire, while she awaits the report whose assessment, once processed, will be made public.

The Department’s Working on Fire last week deployed ground and aerial resources to assist with suppression efforts of the fire in the area.  Working on Fire had deployed 196 firefighters and management and 18 vehicles, 9 aircrafts to help to assist fire authorities in the Overberg (Kleinmond) with fire suppression. A total of 134 additional fire fighters and management from local municipalities and agencies (Overberg District Municipality, Overstrand Municipality and Cape Nature) were also deployed to supress the flames.

Minister Creecy will meet the firefighters to personally thank them for their efforts.

Source: Government of South Africa