2015 Western Cape fire season
The 2015 Cape wildfires were a series of wildfires that burned across the Western Cape from February to April 2015. Major fires burned across the Cape Peninsula starting on 1 March in Muizenberg and burning until 9 March, when firefighters extinguished it. The fire resulted in 1 death, 56 injuries, over 6,900 hectares (17,000 acres) of burnt land, and 13 damaged properties, of which 3 were destroyed. The cause of the fire was later determined to be arson. There were also major fires near Wellington and Porteville starting in February, which claimed the lives of 3 firefighters and a fire in Stellenbosch that caused the evacuation of the University of Stellenbosch and burned over 2,900 hectares (7,200 acres) of land.
2015 Western Cape fire season | |
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An aerial view of 2015 fires on the hills above Muizenberg. | |
Date(s) | February 2015 - April 2015 (SAST) |
Location | Western Cape, South Africa |
Statistics | |
Burned area | Over 11 800 ha |
Land use | Agriculture |
Impacts | |
Deaths | 4 |
Non-fatal injuries | 56 |
Structures destroyed | 13 |
Damage | >R11 million (ZAR, 2015) |
Ignition | |
Cause | Arson, lightning |
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