The last week has certainly revealed what outstanding citizens Capetonians are, as they have rallied from all walks of life to defend property and life, both human and animal (and plant, too) as runaway wildfires have devastated large areas of the Table Mountain National Park and the urban fringe. With the official firefighters stretched to the limit, volunteers were called for and there seemed to be no holding back the women. Despite dangerous conditions for those who are inexperienced in firefighting, the volunteers were deployed wherever possible and, at various key points, an ongoing supply of food, drink and medical equipment was dropped off and distributed by a community concerned only for the welfare of others, without any thought of reward.
Having lived on the upper mountainside of Clovelly since 1958, the family has stayed up at night through many close calls, but this was the first time that my parents were actually told to evacuate, such was the danger of smoke inhalation - the smoke was so thick that no one could really tell how close the fire was. The cars had been packed with a few valuables and mementos two days before, so evacuation was not traumatic, but they left with the clothes they were wearing and 60 years of acquisitions remained in the house. The good part was that the house was not in danger of burning down, and the firefighters and helicopters contained it within a few days.
There are now many thousands of people who are giving deep thought to what is actually important among their belongings and I'm sure there will be many trips to charity shops and donations to the less fortunate as we take stock of the events of the last few days. The loss of homes and animal life is to be lamented, but the Cape floral kingdom is reliant to a large extent on regular burns to renew itself and we can be sure that in time we will once again be able to look upon our mountains with joy in our hearts.
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