Another Tokai fire...

[Shebeen]

silvermine dam

 

from oukaaps

 

photo credit:Wayne Turner

[NC_lurker]

42 minutes ago, Shebeen said:

I don't see arson here, which does happen at times but then normally near the roadside and when the SE is pomping so it's easy. Quite often it's been "mountain dwellers" and also "religious groups" who camp out and chant for days.

Sorry Steve, think again:

[Bro Derek]

It is still puzzling as to why the small fire wasn't dealt with on Saturday

I see a suspect has in fact been arrested in regards to arson, although Clovelly is far from the origin of the fire. (NC got there first)

Edited Tuesday at 09:25 AM by Bro Derek

[NC_lurker]

6 minutes ago, Bro Derek said:

It is still puzzling as to why the small fire wasn't dealt with on Saturday

I see a suspect has in fact been arrested in regards to arson. 

Initial fire started/was started in Tokai. Another fire was subsequently started in Clovelly.

But I agree, it did seem like the helicopters fighting the Tokai fire might've been pulled off before it was totally extinguished on Sat. Unfortunately lots of variables at play I guess.

On Monday afternoon the helicopters were pulled off the Lakeside/Westlake area before it was fully extinguished and redirected to Tokai/Porter school fire line. Just too large a fire line for the limited resources at hand. Having said all that, the effort put in by all the people involved in fighting the fires is humbling.

 

Edited Tuesday at 09:30 AM by NC_lurker
Clarity

[Mamil]

1 hour ago, Vaultboy said:

The outlay for those type of operations is not that modest, judging by farming and conservation communities invest. And for Table Mountain it will be particularly tricky, given the amount of trails, and literally infinite amount of access points. At best, SANParks could monitor the most popular areas, which would simply shift the pressure. SANParks have recently doubled their SEAM ranger capacity, but it is not nearly enough. Even with drones, response times would still be an issue. 

 

But all of that aside, would you really want drones buzzing overhead every time you go hiking up the mountain? And how would you really know that drone belongs to SANParks/SAPS/CoCT, and not some would-be robber, casing you?

I have no idea what the cost would be - three million capital outlay? A couple of million a year? I'm thumbsucking - I imagine drones would be all but invisible to people using the mountain? 

I recently got a little DJI as a birthday present so that's the full extent of my knowledge - I'm amazed at the range and capacity of what is essentially a toy.

 

 

[Meezo]

Quote

⚠️🔥🔥 #TokaiWildfire🔥🔥⚠️

 

For those who are asking "how the fire was 'allowed' to get out of control?" some #Fire101. 

 

First off, let's be mindful and grateful that firefighters have been battling this fire since Friday night when it started.

By early this morning the fire was contained. 

And then the wind picked up... 

 

Wildfires like the Tokai Fire create "hotspots" many of which burn underground. These hotspots can flare up for up to a week - and more - after a fire, and particularly if the wind comes up. 

 

Crews were on site throughout the night and this morning monitoring the situation and suppressing the fire. A chopper was immediately made airborne when the first big flare up began. 

 

Unfortunately between the wind, the thermals the fire itself creates, other hotspots and the gradient of the slope, this fire ran up the slope and into a dense thicket of gums. 

Once in the gums, the fire burned very fast and very hot, driven by its own impetus, the combustible nature of an unmanaged gum thicket, ember-spotting and wind, and rapidly burned out of control. 

Additional crews were, and continue to be called in and they continue to relentlessly battle the fire.

 

This is the grim reality of wildfires. 

There is no "allow" involved. Everyone does their very best. 

 

#FireIsEveryonesFight #trueheroes #StrongerTogether 

 

SANParks - Table Mountain National Park NCC Wildfires Volunteer Wildfire Services City of Cape Town Fire and Rescue Services Ward 71 News @Cape Peninsula Fire Protection Association

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1Jv7dRSLw2/

[Meezo]

Worth a read for those asking

[Vaultboy]

1 hour ago, Mamil said:

I have no idea what the cost would be - three million capital outlay? A couple of million a year? I'm thumbsucking - I imagine drones would be all but invisible to people using the mountain? 

I recently got a little DJI as a birthday present so that's the full extent of my knowledge - I'm amazed at the range and capacity of what is essentially a toy.

 

 

Did you get the Mini 4 Pro? I've seen the reviews, and that looks awesome. I would love one. Its collision avoidance software is particularly impressive. 

I'm no drone expert either, but I have seen surveillance control rooms, and I reckon its more than R3 million capital outlay, including the data centre, and solar (because loadshedding). I also reckon those little personal use drone won't do, given how windy conditions typically are on the mountain plus the limited battery. Aside from using bigger commercial drones, I would imagine they need a drone camera that includes a thermal imaging sensor, for wildfire detection (and for detecting criminals hiding in the brush). And nightvision too? So I reckon drones might easily cost 100k each? But I'm just guessing. 

SANParks would also need licensed drone pilots, who probably earn around R300k per year? So salary and drone cost will add up quickly depending on how many is needed. Plus at least two control room operators as well. 

Personally, I would want more SEAM and K9s stationed all around the mountain instead. They are our primary anti-poaching and crime defense.  

 

 

Edited Tuesday at 10:45 AM by Vaultboy

[Headshot]

Tokai MTB  trails will remain closed and have been marked as such on Trailforks. Woodwork has not been burned - fire stopped at the jeep track where the DH4 bridge is situated and the rest of the tracks are all clay and rock. We do not know how long the closure will remain in force, but we do not expect the sustained closure post the 2015 fire. Here's hoping we will be back on the tracks in a few weeks.

[Shebeen]

1 hour ago, Headshot said:

Tokai MTB  trails will remain closed and have been marked as such on Trailforks. Woodwork has not been burned - fire stopped at the jeep track where the DH4 bridge is situated and the rest of the tracks are all clay and rock. We do not know how long the closure will remain in force, but we do not expect the sustained closure post the 2015 fire. Here's hoping we will be back on the tracks in a few weeks.

that was my concern - so much flippen new wattle there from the 2015 fire the load must be huge if it all went..

[marko35s]

Quick update time - 

After a quick inspection and trail walk on Wednesday we can confirm that the fire did a fair amount of damage but nothing like the 2015 fire.

The good news, the following trails were unaffected - Fairy Garden (got lucky there as the fire reached within 5m of the trail), My Roots, Your Roots, DH4, Boomslang, Snake Eyes, Rinkhals, Puff Adder & The Bridal Path. We got really lucky as this means none of the wooden trail structures were affected.

The bad news, the following trails were affected by the fire - Donkey, Broken Road, DH0, DH1, DH2, Boulders (this was hit very hard), AM Trail, Lizard, Cobra. All these were fully burned. In addition the following were partially burned - Vasbyt (25%), DH3 (25%) and Mamba (30%).

Luckily after the 2015 fire we spent a lot of time replacing wooden trail features with rock wherever possible so that minimised some of the damage. What is still an issue are the many tree stumps and roots on and around the trail that at the time of inspection were still burning, we are hopeful that the rain yesterday will have helped with that.

Currently the trails remain closed by order of SANparks, we will be talking to them to work towards opening up again as soon as possible.

[marko35s]

On 4/29/2025 at 2:07 PM, Shebeen said:

that was my concern - so much flippen new wattle there from the 2015 fire the load must be huge if it all went..

It all went but it went quickly, which from our point of view was quite handy because it meant the fire moved through the area quickly and lessened the damage it did to the trails.

[DieselnDust]

thanks for the update Mark