CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) – Cape Town firefighters finally brought a fire under control Monday after it crossed the slopes of the famous Mountain Table, burning the university’s historic library and forcing the evacuation of neighborhoods.
The smoldering fire is being monitored for explosions due to strong winds and hot and dry conditions.
City officials said the fire, which started early Sunday, was “largely contained” more than 24 hours later.
The fire has already severely damaged the library and other buildings on the Cape Town University campus on Sunday, as well as other historic buildings nearby. Powered by strong winds, it spread through the wild bush on the mountain slopes to the city center and the surrounding residential areas.
Devil’s Peak, one of the mountain’s landmarks overlooking downtown Cape Town, was lit by flames as the fire escaped into the night. Residents of suburbs on the slopes of the mountains were evacuated earlier Monday, as fire dangerously approached their homes.
Firefighters with water containers hanging on ropes collected water from swimming pools and the nearby ocean and threw it on the fire. But they were grounded on Monday because of strong winds.
Four firefighters were injured fighting the flames on the slopes, officials said. The South African army had offered to help with some of its planes.
“It’s a massive wind that blows and actually fuels the fire to spread in every direction,” said Cape Town Mayor Dan Plato.
A 30-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of arson for further arson, another city official said, but it is unclear whether he was responsible for starting the blaze. The man was arrested after witnesses reported seeing three people moving through the flames causing several fires, said JP Smith, the Cape Town security and safety official.
Smith said the city commissioned a forensic investigator to look into the case.
Wildfires in the mountains around Cape Town are quite common during the hot, dry summer months and are sometimes triggered by huge, uncontrollable fires from strong coastal winds. The temperature in Cape Town reached a maximum of 35 degrees Celsius (95 Fahrenheit) on Sunday, and the winds hit the city overnight and Monday.
About 250 city firefighters and volunteers were deployed to fight the blaze, which damaged four buildings at the University of Cape Town. The main reading room of the Jagger Library, where rare and unique African books and manuscripts were kept, was gutted and some of the “priceless” works were lost, the university said. Others were rescued after fireproof doors were activated and parts of the library sealed.
Library staff watched “terrified” from a safe distance as the building burned, said library executive director Ujala Satgoor.
A windmill, built in 1796, and a restaurant next to a memorial for British colonial politician Cecil Rhodes also burned.
The university was completely evacuated and closed, and meals were offered to about 4,000 students who had to quickly leave the university campus and their residences, according to Gift of the Givers, a disaster response organization. Many of those students were taken to local hotels, the group said. University activities were suspended at least until Wednesday.
The group said it also provides food and water to firefighters who had worked for more than 24 hours to control the fire.
Heavy smoke hung over parts of Cape Town, and people were advised to cover their mouths and noses with wet towels or rags as they were evacuated.
Dramatic videos and photos were posted on social media by people who came dangerously close to the flames on the slopes of Table Mountain, which are popular with runners and motorcyclists on weekends.
Lisette Lombard posted a video of her escaping the fire after entering a runway on Sunday. He saw her running breathlessly as fists of smoke rose almost behind her. She said her car and others left in a parking lot were completely burned and eventually found help from firefighters climbing the mountain.
“When they told me that (the fire) was out of control, when the money fell on how dangerous the situation was and how lucky I was,” she told the South African IOL news site.