‘I stared the fire in its eyes’ — residents recall ordeals as fight against Kouga blazes continues

Within a few hours, a calm afternoon along the Kromme River turned into a fight for survival as fast-moving flames tore through parts of the Kouga municipality, leaving residents with seconds to decide what to save and how to escape.

For one woman living on a smallholding near Long Ridge Road, close to the picturesque river, there was no time for planning, only instinct as the fire closed in.

“You feel completely overwhelmed. I can’t even put into words how I felt,” the woman said as she described her ordeal of narrowly escaping the fires that affected the area. “The adrenaline pumps through your body so intensely that you can’t think about anything else. I couldn’t even speak. I was in absolute shock.”

Fire spreads as conditions deteriorate

The fires, driven by the dry conditions and changing wind directions, spread from the Oyster Bay side on Thursday, she said. Homes along the Kromme River and elsewhere in the Kouga region were threatened, and residents were forced to flee.

The Kouga municipality issued several evacuation directives on Thursday, especially for communities along the R330, as raging and uncontrollable blazes spread through parts of the region.

The woman, who did not want to be named, said she first noticed smoke shortly after 13:00 while driving home on the R330 near Humansdorp.

Read more: Devastation and heartbreak — Kouga municipality the latest to be gripped by blazes

After arriving home, she contacted a neighbour who had lived in the area for several years. The neighbour assured her that there were plenty of people and water, and that it seemed like the fire would be brought under control soon.

A race to escape

However, the situation deteriorated rapidly.

“At around 14:00, I went to check again and saw a large plume of white and black smoke coming from the south-west. There were still no visible flames, but I had a bad feeling,” she said.

Shortly afterwards, a young man from a nearby property arrived to ask whether there was cause for concern. “I told him it didn’t look good, and he left almost immediately,” she said.

As the fire slowly crept closer to her residence, the woman moved her car from under the carport and began packing a bag inside her house. Soon after, she heard the sound of the fire approaching.

“I could hear the crackling of the fire,” she said. “When I looked through the windows, I could see flames already at the security fence. The fire was moving very fast and was about 300m from my car.”

The woman said she had time to grab her phone and car keys before running to her vehicle.

“I couldn’t take anything else. I couldn’t find my handbag with my wallet. I ran out with only the clothes I was wearing, the shoes on my feet and sunglasses,” she said. But when she attempted to leave the property, her usual exit route had already been blocked by flames.

“The fire was burning near the only way out,” she said. “I had to turn towards the river. When I looked back, I could see the fire spreading to neighbouring properties.”

A sudden change in wind direction forced her to briefly stop and manoeuvre her car through a fence. “It was pure panic and adrenaline. You don’t think clearly. You only think about surviving,” she said.

A narrow escape across the water

She warned another woman who was trying to flee with her child to turn back before reaching neighbours with property on the riverbank. With roads inaccessible, boats became the only option for evacuation.

“The man whose boat I got on is an incredible young man,” she said. “He had brought a cooler for a birthday celebration, but when he saw people in danger, he helped immediately. The boat was small and only fits four people, but somehow five of us fit on to that small little boat.

“Other boats were helping transport people too, and we headed in the direction of Humansdorp. After about 2km, we stopped at a house on the opposite bank to see if they could take us in, as there were still more people needing rescue,” she said.

While being ferried to safety on the boat, she was certain her house had been destroyed.

“I had seen the flames. You have no idea what you’ll find when you return,” she said. For her, it was the first time she had faced a fire of this scale; neighbours told her it was their second or third. The experience was both overwhelming and bizarre.

“The flames seemed to come for you, ready to swallow you whole. You could literally hear the fire roaring,” she recalled. “If the fire had eyes, I felt like I looked straight into them. If I had not reacted quickly, I do not think I would be alive today.”

Read more: Raging veld fires in Nelson Mandela Bay force K9 Unit evacuation, cause multivehicle accident

Families count the cost

Leandri du Bruyn, who has lived with her family on the riverbank for eight years, said the fire moved with shocking speed. When Daily Maverick visited their home on Friday, her husband Dries was helping neighbours and fire crews to contain fires in the area.

Two homes on the family property were destroyed, one of which belonged to Du Bruyn’s late father-in-law; the other to her husband’s uncle. “My sister and mother lived up here and ... their place burned down,” she said. “The farm belongs to us; it was my father-in-law’s house, that they are staying in.”

As the fire advanced, the family realised her parents were still trapped on the property. However, by the time they tried to evacuate, flames had already reached the road. “We raced back to get them out,” du Bruyn said. “Luckily, there were boats to help everyone on this side of the river escape.”

Leandri du Bruyn described flames taller than rooftops and smoke so thick that visibility dropped within minutes. The fire stopped just short of her chicken coop. “We all stayed at the house overnight, but we barely slept because the fires were still burning nearby.”

Despite the gutting of several structures, du Bruyn said the community’s response had been overwhelming. Neighbours sheltered one another’s families, ferried livestock to safety and pooled equipment and vehicles through the night.

“Everyone tried to save the animals, and neighbours opened their doors to help others,” she said. “In times like this, you really see how people support each other.”

For many, including Du Bruyn’s husband, the losses were deeply personal. “My husband is taking it very hard because the house belonged to his father, who has passed away,” Du Bruyn said. “My mother and sister are now living in the house. It’s very difficult for my husband, seeing his father’s house destroyed.”

Firefighting continues as flare-ups threaten

Kouga mayor Hattingh Bornman, who at one point also had a fire beater in hand to fight the blazes in the early hours of Sunday, said on his Facebook page all three original fires were under control overnight, with teams working through the night to prevent flare-ups.

However, by early Sunday afternoon, Bornman reported that small flare-ups had occurred along the N2 and behind Humansdorp. He said that teams on Oyster Bay Road were still battling fires, while air support continued dropping water on remaining hotspots.

“It is critical that we get everything completely extinguished today as winds are predicted to turn and pick up again tomorrow,” Bornman said.

The municipality again urged residents on Sunday to take immediate precautions to prevent fires during the present high-risk period.

Authorities warn that the conditions significantly increase the risk of uncontrolled veld and structural fires, which pose a threat to lives, property, infrastructure and the environment.

Residents are urged to avoid making any open fire, refrain from burning cables, refuse, or vegetation and to report any suspicious or illegal fire-related activity immediately.

Emergencies or suspicious activity can be reported to the municipality’s call centre on 042 200 2200 or emergency services on 042 291 0250.

Communities rally to support firefighters

There has been an outpouring of support for firefighters in Nelson Mandela Bay, where fires have also burned swaths of land and destroyed property, as well as in Kouga. Community members have rallied together, donating essential firefighting equipment and supplies.

Andrew Mackie, who lives in Johannesburg but owns a house in St Francis Bay, praised the efforts of the firefighters on Friday afternoon after dropping off essentials.

“These guys are risking their lives to look after others, to manage the loss of livestock. They are putting their lives on the line. What we are doing is very small relative to what they are prepared to offer,” he said.

Resident Sarah O’Flaherty volunteered at the St Francis Bay fire station to help sort through the tons of donations arriving from across the region.

“We have a house on the Kromme River, so it’s close to where all the fires are, and people are out fighting for our house, so this was a way that I could do some good and help,” she said.

“Our property is fine. We are actually very far from the fires. We could see the fire coming last night (Wednesday evening), but it seems it had been brought under control. News of flares and the sirens is very nerve-wracking. We still have all our stuff packed in the car, ready to go. We also have a thatched house, which adds to our concern.”

Fire situation still volatile in Nelson Mandela Bay

Meanwhile, in Nelson Mandela Bay, acting mayor Gary van Niekerk said the fire situation across the metro remained “volatile and unpredictable”.

He said numerous veld fires were flaring up in parts of the city, with Fire and Emergency Services “responding to these incidents to the best of their ability”. Crews remained on high alert and were working closely with the farming community and other stakeholders to ensure rapid responses as conditions shifted.

Read more: Nelson Mandela Bay on high alert after dry, windy veld fires ignite home and highway hazards

Disaster Management officials were on the ground to support affected communities, helping to coordinate safety measures and provide assistance as needs arose.

Van Niekerk said the Fire Brigade Services Act and the Disaster Management Act provided the legal framework that enabled the municipality to deliver fire and disaster management services. However, he said that more research was needed to assess whether municipalities had sufficient capacity and readiness to perform these functions effectively.

He said there was a critical need to strengthen the metro’s fire service through the acquisition of “reliable, fit-for-purpose bush fire tender vehicles”. Investing in modern equipment, he said, would significantly improve response capabilities and overall fire management across Nelson Mandela Bay.

Eastern Cape MEC for cooperative governance and traditional affairs Zolile Williams commended the ongoing efforts of teams to contain the raging fires and the support the province had received from, among other groups, business, fire protection associations, district municipalities and farming communities.

“The heroic efforts of our teams are a source of strength and encouragement to mitigate further damage from the fires. Our firefighting resources are already strained,” Williams said. DM