Slopes of the Table Mountain and Signal Hill bordering the city of Cape Town have been on fire since yesterday afternoon. Yesterday the smoke cloud covered the whole city centre, making the sun appear only as a thin red disc in the sky.

Water bombing helicopters have been flying over the city in a constant chain, but the 60 knot winds fan the flames, making fire fighting much more difficult.

BBC News adds:

The Table Mountain cable car has been closed and people living nearby have been fleeing their homes as the flames advance. A number of houses are reported to have caught fire.

Apparently the fires were started from a cigarette butt of a British tourist.

Today the fires seem to be mostly under control and the sky can be seen again. The hotel smelled quite strongly of smoke, but there’s hope of still making the planned hike to the top of the mountain tomorrow.

At least this fire has been up on a mountain, and not inside a wall like Piotras had.