Firefighters finally beat fire that destroyed 100 homes

The South African Press Association

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa — Mop-up operations continued in St Francis Bay in the Eastern Cape on Monday morning after a blaze destroyed more than 100 houses, the Kouga municipality said.

"Firefighters were sent home to sleep at about 4 a.m. after having extinguished the fire at the St Francis canals," spokeswoman Laura-Leigh Randall said.

"Firefighters from the Cacadu district municipality are still at the scene monitoring the situation and checking for flare-ups."

Before midnight on Sunday night, the fire was half extinguished and not an immediate threat to other houses.

The flames were fanned by a strong westerly wind. Ten fire engines had been brought in and more were called from the Nelson Mandela Bay and Koukamma municipalities, Randall said.

"The cause of the fire is not known, but the fire started at about 5.30 p.m. at Royal Wharf developments, which is mainly townhouses," she said.

All residents in the area had been asked to evacuate, and a temporary joint operations centre had been set up at the local police station.

Most of the houses in the area were holiday homes. The exact number of houses burnt down was not available.

"No final figures on the damage yet... We will be doing the damage assessment today," she added.

Copyright 2012 South African Press Association (SAPA)

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