IT HAD been an unusually quiet fire season and as autumn arrived authorities even dared to hope the Mother City would escape unscathed this year.
But any illusion of escape was banished on the morning of Sunday 18 April when all hell was unleashed on the city.
At first it seemed like a regular Sunday morning, the slopes of the mountain dotted with hikers, cyclists and joggers enjoying the bright sunlight.
But the temperature was murderously high and the wind like a blast from a hot oven.
It wasn’t long before intense orange licks of flame became a terrible story.
By the end of the day, Cape Town was making global headlines as Armageddon-like scenes beamed around the world.
THE fire began on the lower slopes of Devil’s Peak, just above the highway snaking around the mountain into the city centre.
Strong winds sent it racing towards Rhodes Memorial, where the famous tea garden with sweeping views of the city was destroyed.
Dramatic cellphone footage showed an explosion as the restaurant’s gas bottles were detonated by the flames.
Next in the line of fire was the University of Cape Town (UCT), Africa’s top university. Several buildings were damaged, including the iconic Jagger Library which was all but gutted.
The building’s fire detection system triggered the fire shutters and prevented the spread of the blaze through the entire library, says Ujala Satgoor, executive director of UCT Libraries.
Esta historia es de la edición 29 April 2021 de YOU South Africa.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición 29 April 2021 de YOU South Africa.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
BALLON IN THE BAG
Manchester City midfielder Rodrigo Hernandez Cascante says his Ballon d'Or win is a victory for Spanish football
IT WAS ALL A LIE
A new doccie exposes the Grey's Anatomy writer who fabricated her life story
'I WILL NEVER GIVE UP'
After her husband, anticorruption activist Alexei Navalny, was poisoned and murdered by the Kremlin, she became the public face of Russia's opposition. In this candid interview Yulia Navalnaya opens up about life on the run, her perilous family life and why she's continuing her husband's fight to save their country
AGREE TO DISAGREE
Trevor Noah on how his childhood squabbles with his mother inspired his delightful new book
PAUSE THE CLOCK
Researchers have discovered that the ageing process spikes at 44 and 60. Here's what you can do to slow it down
MPOOMY ON TOP
We chat to SA's most popular female podcaster about love, loss and her booming success
MY BROTHER IS NOT TO BLAME
Tinus Drotské says his sibling, ex Bok Nǎka, is the victim in the brawl with a neighbour that landed up in court
MATT THE RECLUSE
A year after his friend's tragic death, the actor continues to shun the spotlight
A LEAP OF FAITH
After her husband tried to kill her by tampering with her parachute she thought she'd never trust a man again-but now she's found love
THEY'RE MY KIDS!
This West Coast woman treats her monkeys as iftheyre humans and animal activists are not happy about it