Cape Town - A 42-year-old man believed to have started an illegal fire along the slopes of Paarl Mountain which caused devastation, has been arrested and appeared in court.
The man is facing charges relating to the Veld and Forestry.
He was arrested on December 1 2024 following the success by the police and the Drakenstein Municipality's Law Enforcement and made an appearance at the Paarl Magistrates’ Court this week and is expected to be back in the dock on December 10 2024.
The State is set to prove the man illegally made a fire on Paarl Mountain which caused damage to fauna and flora.
The fire began on Sunday, November 30 2024, just after midday which saw firefighting crews and vehicles from five municipalities tackle the blaze which was brought under control the following day.
Dereck Peceur, Head: Fire and Rescue Operations and Training at Drakenstein Municipality said while firefighters were battling the fire, Drakenstein Municipality’s Law Enforcement division received crucial information about the alleged cause of the fire.
“Our Law Enforcement division immediately informed SAPS who followed up on all the leads and was able to arrest the suspect on Sunday afternoon. Drakenstein Municipality is giving our full support to the police in the investigation.”
According to Peceur, the Municipality’s Fire and Rescue Services were notified of a fire on Paarl Mountain near Kloof Street at 11am on November 30 2024.
“When our Fire and Rescue Services arrived at the scene and saw the extent of the fire, we informed the Cape Winelands District Municipality which immediately sent a ground crew and aerial support to assist our teams,” he added.
“At one stage the firefighters were battling fires in four different areas on Paarl Mountain.
“Our focus was to get the fire under control and to protect the properties on the slopes of the mountain.
“The wind and hot weather conditions also did not help our efforts to quickly extinguish the fire.
“At around 3pm on Saturday, we called a Code Red and reached out to neighbouring municipalities to assist us in fighting the blaze.”
An Incident Command Centre was set up near Rembrandt Mall in Paarl, while emergency services, ER24, was stationed near the scene.
“By Sunday, 1 December 2024, at 6:00 we had the fire under control. Our teams, however, remained on the mountain until Monday, 2 December 2024, to monitor the area for possible flare-ups,” he detailed.