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- Firefighters deployed to extinguish the fire on Paarl Mountain have successfully contained the blaze.
- The Cape Winelands Municipality said the crew reported only a few flare-ups.
- The municipality deployed firefighters, choppers and fire vehicles to fight the blaze.
The Cape Winelands District Municipality says the fire on Paarl Mountain has been contained.
Municipality spokesperson Jo-Anne Otto said the firefighting crews reported only a few flare-ups.
"Teams report that although there have been a few flare-ups, teams have managed to contain all active fire lines. There are currently eight vehicles and crew from the Cape Winelands and three vehicles and crew from Drakenstein Municipality's Fire Services," said Otto.
New24 reported earlier that the municipality said the fire, which started on Wednesday afternoon, affected both sides of the Jan Phillips Mountain Road along the slopes of Paarl Mountain.
Initially, firefighting crews had made use of two choppers and seven fire vehicles to contain the fire.
"There are no active flames on the fire line above the road, where three ground crews, two from NCC and one from Lewis Alien Clearing, will continue damping down, mopping up and monitoring throughout the night. The fire line running below the road still requires active firefighting and is proving more problematic as there is a high fuel load provided by alien vegetation," the municipality said earlier.
The municipality urged motorists to refrain from driving in the area as this would hamper firefighting efforts.
Several parts of the municipality, including the Du Toitskloof Pass and Wolseley, have battled fires in recent months. News24 previously reported that it took firefighters two weeks to extinguish the fire in Wolseley.
It took 158 firefighters, at least 10 ground crews, and 18 firefighting vehicles to extinguish the blaze that ripped through more than 24,000 hectares.
The Western Cape government said its firefighting budget had increased to R19 million.
