A water chopper hovers over University of Cape Town on April 18, 2021 as a wildfire spread across the mountain.
Brenton Geach/Gallo Images via Getty Images
Fire spreading rapidly is always a risk at the University of Cape Town.
Wildfires are the inevitable consequence of three factors coming together at the same time: an ignition, the weather and fuel.
Brenton Geach/Gallo Images via Getty Images
The fynbos vegetation that historically clothed the slopes of Table Mountain is highly inflammable. This has been worsened by the spread of alien trees that burn more intensely than the fynbos.
A wildfire spread across the slopes of Table Mountain to the University of Cape Town.
Photo by Brenton Geach/Gallo Images via Getty Images
Fire hazards are influenced by three factors: weather, an ignition source and fuel loads. The first two are unpredictable. But fuel loads can be managed.