South_Africa_Cape_Town_Fire_12360 Residential neighborhoods are lit by raging fires in Cape Town, South Africa, Monday, April 19, 2021. Residents are being evacuated from Cape Town neighborhoods after a huge fire spreading on the slopes of the city's famed Table Mountain was fanned by strong winds overnight and threatened houses.(AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
AP Photo/Jerome Delay
South_Africa_Cape_Town_Fire_88030 The charred remains of the Jagger library on the University of Cape Town Campus in Cape Town, Monday April 19, 2021. People were evacuated from Cape Town neighborhoods as a raging wildfire sweeping across the slopes of the city’s famed Table Mountain was fanned by high winds and threatened homes. City authorities said the fire, which started early Sunday, was still not under control. The blaze has already burned the library and other buildings on the campus of the University of Cape Town. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
AP Photo/Jerome Delay
South_Africa_Cape_Town_Fire_35695 The charred remains of the Jagger library on the University of Cape Town Campus in Cape Town, Monday April 19, 2021. People were evacuated from Cape Town neighborhoods as a raging wildfire sweeping across the slopes of the city’s famed Table Mountain was fanned by high winds and threatened homes. City authorities said the fire, which started early Sunday, was still not under control. The blaze has already burned the library and other buildings on the campus of the University of Cape Town. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
AP Photo/Jerome Delay
South_Africa_Cape_Town_Fire_62237 Firemen work at the University of Cape Town Campus in Cape Town, Monday April 19, 2021. People were evacuated from Cape Town neighborhoods as a raging wildfire sweeping across the slopes of the city’s famed Table Mountain was fanned by high winds and threatened homes. City authorities said the fire, which started early Sunday, was still not under control. The blaze has already burned the library and other buildings on the campus of the University of Cape Town. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
AP Photo/Jerome Delay
South_Africa_Cape_Town_Fire_23244 Firemen work at the University of Cape Town Campus in Cape Town, Monday April 19, 2021. People were evacuated from Cape Town neighborhoods as a raging wildfire sweeping across the slopes of the city’s famed Table Mountain was fanned by high winds and threatened homes. City authorities said the fire, which started early Sunday, was still not under control. The blaze has already burned the library and other buildings on the campus of the University of Cape Town. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
AP Photo/Jerome Delay
South_Africa_Cape_Town_Fire_99642 A burned sign indicates the entrance of the UCT campus in Cape Town, South Africa, Monday, April 19, 2021. People were evacuated from Cape Town neighborhoods as a raging wildfire sweeping across the slopes of the city’s famed Table Mountain was fanned by high winds and threatened homes. City authorities said the fire, which started early Sunday, was still not under control. The blaze has already burned the library and other buildings on the campus of the University of Cape Town. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
AP Photo/Jerome Delay
South_Africa_Cape_Town_Fire_04169 Residential neighborhoods are lit by raging fires in Cape Town, South Africa, Monday, April 19, 2021. Residents are being evacuated from Cape Town neighborhoods after a huge fire spreading on the slopes of the city's famed Table Mountain was fanned by strong winds overnight and threatened houses.(AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
AP Photo/Jerome Delay
South_Africa_Cape_Town_Fire_04340 A log burns in Cape Town, South Africa, Monday, April 19, 2021. Residents are being evacuated from Cape Town neighborhoods after a huge fire spreading on the slopes of the city's famed Table Mountain was fanned by strong winds overnight and threatened houses.(AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
AP Photo/Jerome Delay
South_Africa_Cape_Town_Fire_47118 Residential neighborhoods are lit by raging fires in Cape Town, South Africa, Monday, April 19, 2021. Residents are being evacuated from Cape Town neighborhoods after a huge fire spreading on the slopes of the city's famed Table Mountain was fanned by strong winds overnight and threatened houses.(AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
AP Photo/Jerome Delay
South_Africa_Cape_Town_Fire_09836 Residential neighborhoods are lit by raging fires in Cape Town, South Africa, Monday, April 19, 2021. Residents are being evacuated from Cape Town neighborhoods after a huge fire spreading on the slopes of the city's famed Table Mountain was fanned by strong winds overnight and threatened houses.(AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
AP Photo/Jerome Delay
South_Africa_Cape_Town_Fire_78187 Firemen work on the UCT campus in Cape Town, South Africa, Monday, April 19, 2021. Residents are being evacuated from Cape Town neighborhoods after a huge fire spreading on the slopes of the city's famed Table Mountain was fanned by strong winds overnight and threatened houses.(AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
AP Photo/Jerome Delay
South_Africa_Cape_Town_Fire_43444 Fire burns on the slopes of Table Mountain in Cape Town, South Africa, Monday, April 19, 2021. People were evacuated from Cape Town neighbourhoods as a raging wildfire sweeping across the slopes of the city's famed Table Mountain was fanned by high winds and threatened homes. City authorities said the fire, which started early Sunday, was still not under control. The blaze has already burned the library and other buildings on the campus of the University of Cape Town. (AP Photo/Nardus Engelbrecht)
AP Photo/Nardus Engelbrecht
South_Africa_Cape_Town_Fire_80195 The remains of the library at the University of Cape Town, South Africa, Monday, April 19, 2021 after it burned down Sunday. People were evacuated from Cape Town neighborhoods as a raging wildfire sweeping across the slopes of the city’s famed Table Mountain was fanned by high winds and threatened homes. City authorities said the fire, which started early Sunday, was still not under control. The blaze has already burned the library and other buildings on the campus of the University of Cape Town. (AP Photo)
AP Photo
South_Africa_Cape_Town_Fire_53990 A fireman douses vegetation on the slopes of Table Mountain in Cape Town, South Africa, Monday, April 19, 2021.People were evacuated from Cape Town neighborhoods as a raging wildfire sweeping across the slopes of the city’s famed Table Mountain was fanned by high winds and threatened homes. City authorities said the fire, which started early Sunday, was still not under control. The blaze has already burned the library and other buildings on the campus of the University of Cape Town. (AP Photo)
AP Photo
South_Africa_Cape_Town_Fire_29059 Firefighters douse the destroyed Jagger Library at the University of Cape Town, South Africa, Sunday, April 18, 2021. A wildfire raging on the slopes of Cape Town's Table Mountain spread to the University forcing the evacuation of students.. (AP Photo/Nardus Engelbrecht)
AP Photo/Nardus Engelbrecht
South_Africa_Cape_Town_Fire_40517 Firefighters douse the destroyed Jagger Library at the University of Cape Town, South Africa, Sunday, April 18, 2021. A wildfire raging on the slopes of Cape Town's Table Mountain spread to the University forcing the evacuation of students.. (AP Photo/Nardus Engelbrecht)
AP Photo/Nardus Engelbrecht
South_Africa_Cape_Town_Fire_96607 Residents leave their homes, due to a fire on the slopes of Table Mountain, in Cape Town South Africa, Monday, April 19, 2021. Residents were evacuated from Cape Town neighborhoods Monday as a huge fire spreading on the slopes of the city's famed Table Mountain was fanned by strong winds overnight and houses came under threat. (AP Photo/Nardus Engelbrecht)
AP Photo/Nardus Engelbrecht
South_Africa_Cape_Town_Fire_51786 Firefighters keep an eye on a raging fire on the slopes of Table Mountain, in Cape Town South Africa, Monday, April 19, 2021. Residents are being evacuated from Cape Town neighborhoods after a huge fire spreading on the slopes of the city’s famed Table Mountain was fanned by strong winds overnight and houses came under threat. City authorities say residents of parts of the Vredehoek neighborhood were being evacuated Monday as a “precautionary” measure after the fire spread towards the area. (AP Photo/Nardus Engelbrecht)
AP Photo/Nardus Engelbrecht
South_Africa_Cape_Town_Fire_09914 A fire rages on the slopes of Table Mountain, in Cape Town South Africa, Monday, April 19, 2021. Residents are being evacuated from Cape Town neighborhoods after a huge fire spreading on the slopes of the city’s famed Table Mountain was fanned by strong winds overnight and houses came under threat. City authorities say residents of parts of the Vredehoek neighborhood were being evacuated Monday as a “precautionary” measure after the fire spread towards the area. (AP Photo/Nardus Engelbrecht)
AP Photo/Nardus Engelbrecht
South_Africa_Cape_Town_Fire_25725 Residents leave their a residential building due to a fire on the slopes of Table Mountain, in Cape Town South Africa, Monday, April 19, 2021. Residents were evacuated from Cape Town neighborhoods Monday as a huge fire spreading on the slopes of the city's famed Table Mountain was fanned by strong winds overnight and houses came under threat. (AP Photo/Nardus Engelbrecht)
AP Photo/Nardus Engelbrecht
South_Africa_Cape_Town_Fire_47968 A fire rages on the slopes of Table Mountain, in Cape Town South Africa, Monday, April 19, 2021. Residents were evacuated from Cape Town neighborhoods Monday as a huge fire spreading on the slopes of the city's famed Table Mountain was fanned by strong winds overnight and houses came under threat. (AP Photo)
AP Photo
South_Africa_Cape_Town_Fire_00027 Clouds of dark smoke hang above the city of Cape Town, South Africa, Monday, April 19, 2021. Residents are being evacuated from Cape Town neighborhoods after a huge fire spreading on the slopes of the city’s famed Table Mountain was fanned by strong winds overnight and threatened houses. (AP Photo/Nardus Engelbrecht)
AP Photo/Nardus Engelbrecht
South_Africa_Cape_Town_Fire_31375 A helicopter hovers above the city of Cape Town, South Africa, as a fire rages on the slopes of Table Mountain, Monday, April 19, 2021. Residents were evacuated from Cape Town neighborhoods Monday as a huge fire spreading on the slopes of the city's famed Table Mountain was fanned by strong winds overnight and houses came under threat.rb have been evacuated as a precautionary measure as high winds fanned the fire for a second day. (AP Photo)
AP Photo
South_Africa_Cape_Town_Fire_76678 Firemen fight a fire on the slopes of Table Mountain, in Cape Town, South Africa, Monday, April 19, 2021. Residents were evacuated from Cape Town neighborhoods Monday as a huge fire spreading on the slopes of the city's famed Table Mountain was fanned by strong winds overnight and houses came under threat. (AP Photo)
AP Photo
South_Africa_Cape_Town_Fire_52276 Clouds of smoke are seen above the city of Cape Town, South Africa, Monday, April 19, 2021. Residents are being evacuated from Cape Town neighborhoods after a huge fire spreading on the slopes of the city’s famed Table Mountain was fanned by strong winds overnight and threatened houses. (AP Photo/Nardus Engelbrecht)
AP Photo/Nardus Engelbrecht
South_Africa_Cape_Town_Fire_60694 Firemen in clouds of dark smoke work on the slopes of Table Mountain in Cape Town, South Africa, Monday, April 19, 2021. Residents are being evacuated from Cape Town neighborhoods after a huge fire spreading on the slopes of the city’s famed Table Mountain was fanned by strong winds overnight and threatened houses. (AP Photo/Nardus Engelbrecht)
CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — Firefighters in Cape Town finally brought a wildfire under control Monday after it swept across the slopes of the city’s famed Table Mountain, burning the university’s historic library and forcing the evacuation of some neighborhoods.
The smoldering fire is being watched for flareups amid high winds and hot, dry conditions.
City authorities said the fire, which started early Sunday, was “largely contained” more than 24 hours later.
The fire had already badly damaged the library and other buildings on the campus of the University of Cape Town on Sunday, as well as other historic buildings nearby. Fueled by the high winds, it spread through the wild bush on the mountain slopes toward the city’s center and the surrounding residential areas.
Devil’s Peak, one of the iconic points of the mountain which overlooks downtown Cape Town, was lit up by flames as the fire raged through the night. Residents of suburbs on the mountain slopes were evacuated early Monday as the blaze came dangerously close to their homes.
Fire-fighting helicopters with water containers suspended on ropes had been scooping up water from swimming pools and the nearby ocean and dumping it on the fire. But they were grounded on Monday because of the strong winds.
Four firefighters were injured battling the blaze on the slopes, said officials. The South African army had offered to help with some of its aircraft.
“It’s a massive wind that’s blowing, and that is actually fueling the fire to spread in each and every direction,” Cape Town mayor Dan Plato said.
A man in his 30s was arrested on suspicion of arson for setting additional fires, another city official said, but it’s not clear if he was responsible for starting the blaze. The man was arrested after witnesses reported seeing three people moving through flames setting more fires, Cape Town safety and security official JP Smith said.
Smith said the city had commissioned a forensic fire investigator to look into the cause.
Wildfires on the mountains surrounding Cape Town are fairly common during the hot, dry summer months and are sometimes whipped up into huge, uncontrollable blazes by strong coastal winds. The temperature in Cape Town peaked at 35 degrees Celsius (95 Fahrenheit) Sunday and the winds hit the city overnight and Monday.
About 250 city and volunteer firefighters were deployed to battle the fire, which damaged four buildings at the University of Cape Town. The Jagger Library’s main reading room, where rare and unique African books and manuscripts were kept, was gutted and some of the “priceless” works had been lost, the university said. Others were saved after fire-proof doors activated and sealed off parts of the library.
Library staff had watched “in horror” from a safe distance as the building burned, the library’s executive director, Ujala Satgoor, said.
A windmill, built in 1796, and a restaurant near a memorial for the British colonial politician Cecil Rhodes also burned down.
The university has been completely evacuated and shut down and meals were being provided for around 4,000 students who had to quickly leave the university campus and their residences, according to Gift of the Givers, a disaster response organization. Many of those students were taken to local hotels, the group said. Activities at the university were suspended until at least Wednesday.
The group said it is also supplying food and water to the firefighters who had been working for more than 24 hours to control the fire.
Heavy smoke hung over parts of Cape Town and people were advised to cover their mouths and noses with wet towels or rags while being evacuated.
Dramatic videos and photos were posted on social media by people who came perilously close to the blaze on the slopes of Table Mountain, which is popular among runners and mountain bikers on the weekend.
Lisette Lombard posted a video of herself escaping from the fire after going on a trail run on Sunday. She’s seen running, breathless, as plumes of smoke rise close behind her. She said her car and others left in a parking lot were completely burnt out and she eventually found help from firefighters coming up the mountain.
“When they told me that it (the fire) is out of control, that is when the penny dropped on how dangerous the situation was and how lucky I had got,” she told South Africa’s IOL news website.
