The South African Air Force has agreed to deploy additional resources to combat the fires that have ravaged parts of the Western Cape in recent weeks. According to Anton Bredell, the Western Cape’s local government, environmental affairs and development planning MEC, the air force will provide additional helicopters to help douse the flames. Helicopters are normally used as "water bombers" and complement ground firefighters by providing aerial "water drops" that sufficiently subdue the blaze to allow much safer firefighting work at ground level. On Tuesday there were at least 19 fires being fought across the Western Cape, mainly in the Cape Peninsula, the West Coast and the Cape Winelands districts. The fire season in the province extends from November to May with the dry and windy conditions fuelling the wildfires. "We are very grateful to the air force and the defence minister for their assistance," said Bredell. "The Oryx helicopters are much larger and able to deliver a bigger p...
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