'Angel Team saved Rheenendal'

NATIONAL NEWS - Despite this journalist living there himself and experiencing how the men and women of Highway West, Rheenendal battled furious fires on their own, a resident contacted the Knysna-Plett Herald (KPH) to tell us about the team of people who put their lives on the line for their community.

According to Caroline Jones, without the heroic actions of Deon van Zyl and the group of people they are calling the "Angel Team", Rheenendal would have been devastated by the fires that hit the Garden Route since Wednesday, June 7.

Van Zyl, though, on Tuesday, June 13 said he did not like the word "heroic" or "heroes" at all. “We were determined, not heroic. It’s not like we rushed into burning houses or anything like that. We just decided the fire stops here, we defend this line or lose,” he said.

'Saving lives, not trees'

“We were there to save lives and properties, yes, but not trees. We weren’t going to put our lives on the line for something that will grow back. Angel’s Rise was our base for four days because the area behind it would have gone up instantly if the fire had reached it – we couldn’t let the fire pass us there. It was that line or nothing,” he said.

According to Van Zyl the community of Highway West fought the fires alone until the day KPH went to see him. At that stage he was busy taking a team from the Southern Cape Fire Protection Association (SCFPA) on a tour of affected areas that he thought needed to be water bombed.

Throughout the week, Van Zyl and a dedicated team of volunteers from the Rheenendal area fought relentlessly against destructive flames and worrying flare-ups.

“Our biggest concern was Quarrywood, which lost more than 80% of its grazing, the fire at Leeuwenbosch, the fire in Phantom Pass, and the fire at Andy Fuller’s farm over the Homtini Pass – if the fire passed him there are some 7 000 people that would have possibly been affected. We could control most areas but the fire and subsequent constant smouldering at Maradadi that had gone on for almost seven consecutive days was inaccessible, we needed help there.”

Van Zyl said that the fires at the Phantom and Homtini passes had been fought by volunteers and firefighters of some sort. “Highway West was the only place left on its own, and miraculously no houses were lost. Using disc ploughs we created emergency temporary fire breaks too.”

His opinion was immediately backed up by Dirk Smit and Philip Wilken of SCFPA, and they immediately arranged for two choppers to attend to some rising columns of smoke immediately.

“We requested the helicopters because of the inaccessibility of the Maradadi, Mooibos area. There could be the possibility that the fire could flare up and run away from us. All we have is our ground crew, with each guy carrying backpacks with 20 litres of water in it. Sending them up and down the hill would be dangerous, so we need to protect them too. Once the choppers have done their part we can send in the ground crew,” Smit said.

Relief as choppers arrive

And while KPH was standing there with some of the volunteer/residents of the area, the choppers came. Watching them one could see a general sigh of relief emanating from them all. There were smiles and laughs all round.

According to Van Zyl, the choppers had come just at the right time as the wind started picking up toward the direction he had feared earlier.

“There has been and will be plenty of bad-mouthing toward the SCFPA guys and other firefighters for only coming to help us today, but people have to understand that with their limited resources they too had to prioritise where to send teams to. The scale of this fire is beyond anyone’s comprehension and imagination,” he added.

According to Van Zyl his and other volunteers' bout with the fires started Wednesday morning, June 7 at about 04:00.

“The first message I received was about Dam-se-Bos, which got me out of bed. Then I heard about the fire in Elandskraal and started mobilising people. Every person who had a water tank or pump or swimming pool wanted to help,” he said.

According to Van Zyl his first shift was about 31 hours long. “That’s when I was told to go to bed. None of us wanted to stop but at some point you have to. Since then we worked in shifts, patrolled the area around Highway West at least every four hours if not more frequently, and slept only a couple of hours per night.”

Some of the issues that stared these men in the face was difficulty communicating, the nonindigenous flora, and sparse or nonstandard equipment.

'Better preparation needed'

“This should teach us to be prepared though, but if you look at the news, these fires are already not getting as much attention as they did in the beginning. Same thing might happen with getting prepared. People say ‘Let’s get prepared’, but three weeks later the urgency has faded.”

Van Zyl described his lowest point during the blazes as the moment he thought they were going to lose a house, but eventually saved it. “The highlight was today when these choppers came – without a doubt,” he smiled.

“Now we need feed for livestock. That is our biggest concern at the moment. Unless we get some desperately needed rain, some of the farmers might be in trouble,” he added.

When asked if there was anyone who he wanted to mention, Van Zyl said, “I could name 10 people, and would probably have forgotten about five, not to mention the people who helped us who I don’t even know about. This was truly a community standing together.”

Deon Van Zyl (black shirt, far left) looks at GPS coordinates with Dirk Smit and Philip Wilken of the Southern Cape Fire Protection Association before Smit requested a chopper be sent to the area of Maradadi, Mooibos.