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- Firefighters working the line of the Wolseley blaze have detailed their backbreaking work.
- The fire, which burned for more than 10 days, scorched around 24 000 hectares of land.
- More than 158 firefighters worked the fire line, which spanned about 6.5 kilometres at one stage.
While each wildfire is unique, they all have one thing in common for firefighter Ian MacBlane: The way his pulse races as he steps into a cloud of black smoke for the first time.
The massive fire near Wolseley in the Western Cape was no exception. It raged out of control into a second week and burnt more than 24 000 hectares. At one stage, the fire line spanned more than 6.5 kilometres.
"I've been firefighting for two years, but the feeling is always the same. When you go into a big fire, there's a cloud of smoke. Everything goes black and your heart starts pounding. It's nerve-wracking. But you focus and zone in once the work starts," MacBlane said.
The US citizen is in South Africa as an exchange firefighter with NCC Wildfires – contracted ground crews who have aided in wildfire fighting efforts across the province. NCC has a contract that sees local firefighters travelling to the US to lend aid during fire season and American firefighters joining local crews to allow for skills exchange. He usually works on wildfires in Alaska, his home state.
READ MORE | Cape Winelands fire: 5 choppers, 158 firefighters, 30 300-man hours, millions of rand battling blaze
Exacerbated by strong winds and high fuel loads, the Wolseley fire proved particularly challenging for firefighters.
"I've never seen a fire like that in my life," recalled MacBlane.
"It ripped up the mountain."
In Alaska, firefighting takes on a much different form.
He said:
Tarren January, the squad leader of the NCC Charlie Crew and one of the original members of NCC's all-women Juliet Crew, also braved the flames on the Wolseley fire line.
She said that over and above the hot weather, dry vegetation and strong winds, firefighters were forced to hike over tough terrain to reach the flames.
"It's been very difficult. If you can't get to the fire, you're not in control. There's so many times when you feel like you want to give up, but because you're a firefighter, you push through."
Often, firefighters were faced with walls of high flames and temperatures so intense they could feel the heat on the skin through their protective clothing, January said.
"The rage of the fire … it's scary."
She said hiking across the mountain areas proved a challenge, especially as she sometimes felt as though she did not have the same level of stamina as her male counterparts.
"But because we're fighting along with male counterparts, we tend to get that strength from them so we can push through. We have the support of our peers."
More than 150 flight hours were spent trying to extinguish the fire near Wolseley, with 10 teams comprising 158 firefighters battling the blaze on the ground.
The fire started on 22 January at around 15:00.
WATCH | 'We left with the clothes on our back' - Evacuated Pringle Bay residents reflect as fire lingers
Cape Winelands District Municipality spokesperson Jo-Anne Otto said the dryness of the ground, hot weather, uneven terrain and mixed vegetation all contributed to its intensity.
Otto previously told News24 that the biggest challenge for firefighters was rough terrain.
Only days before the Wolseley fire broke out, the Western Cape government announced that an additional R3 million would be released to bolster the province's wildfire response, bringing the budget to R19 million.
Based on figures from the previous year, authorities anticipated there would be more than 7 000 wildfires in the province this summer.
