CAPE TOWN: Five houses and an upmarket hotel were destroyed and dozens of people evacuated from their homes as wildfires raged through Cape Town’s scenic southern peninsula, firefighters said on Monday.

A massive firefighting operation was under way, with a fleet of helicopters water-bombing blazes threatening upscale seaside villages dotted along the coastline.

Fanned by strong winds and high temperatures, the fires stretch over some 3,000 hectares of the mountain range running down the spine of the narrow peninsula, national parks spokeswoman Merle Collins said.

The peninsula includes parts of the Table Mountain National Park leading to Cape Point at the extreme southwestern tip of Africa, a popular destination for international tourists.

As it swept towards the village of Hout Bay on the Atlantic coast, the fire ripped through the five-star Tintswalo Atlantic Lodge perched on the edge of the ocean, the National Sea Rescue Institute reported.

Guests were evacuated earlier and no injuries were reported.

The hotel “has been largely gutted by fire despite extensive efforts by Fire and Rescue Services to save the buildings,” the NSRI said in a statement.

Published in Dawn March 3rd , 2015

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