According to witnesses, about 2000 olive trees were destroyed in the fire, amongst others. The fire brigade was busy until late in the evening after they were called to help extinguish a fire close to the Wildealskloof Shooting Range. The range consists of heaps of tyres that ran the risk of catching fire.

The owner of the establishment, Schalk van der Merwe, told OFM News that about 60 of the 160 hectares were destroyed and that none of the flames managed to reach the business, even though it was quite close. Van der Merwe thanked the Mangaung Fire and Rescue Services, Bram Fischer International Airport Fire Department, as well as residents on the estate and farmers who helped to extinguish the flames on his property.

Furthermore, OFM News previously reported that the firefighters were struggling to enter one of the estates to fight the fire. Mangaung Fire and Rescue Services’ firefighter JC Scheepers told OFM News at the scene that during a similar incident several years ago, they also could not gain access to the estate as the entrance was too small for the emergency vehicles. Scheepers stated that they requested for the entrance to be enlarged to avoid such incidents.

OFM News/Elsabé Richard