Table Mountain Fire

January 20, 2016

TableMtFire

Photographer: Sven Olivier
Summary Author: Sven Olivier

On January 9, 2016, an intense bushfire broke out on the slopes of Devil's Peak, on the eastern aspect of Table Mountain in South Africa. Table Mountain borders the city of Cape Town. Throughout the spring and into midsummer much of South Africa has been subjected to well above normal temperatures (over 104 F or 40 C). The unusually hot weather and desiccated vegetation resulted in a number of runaway fires. This particular bushfire started about 1,800 ft (550 m) up the mountain. However, strong southeasterly downslope winds quickly pushed it towards Cape Town and its suburbs — from the top right towards the bottom left of the above photo. On the morning of the 10th, firefighting services engaged three Huey helicopters to assist them in dousing the fire by dumping thousands of gallons of water. By noon, all was under control. Fortunately, there were no injuries or any loss of property.

Photo Details: Camera Model: NIKON D7000; Focal Length: 220.0mm (35mm equivalent: 330mm); Aperture: ƒ/5.6; Exposure Time: 0.017 s (1/60); Software: PaintShop Pro 14.00.

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