Skip to main content

No shortage of olives after wildfire hits grove: CEO

| Supplier news

"You will still have your Buffet Olives, there's no two ways about that. We have a large portion of the farm unaffected by the fire," Richard Allen, CEO of Cape Olive Holdings said.

And the trees that had been brushed by the fire would recover, he said.

Flames reached Paarl's oldest wine estate, Calais, early on Tuesday, destroying the main house.

"People living in the house had to evacuate as soon as possible as the roof almost instantaneously burned down," said a director of the estate, who did not want to be named.

"We lost a lot in the fire, paintings worth thousands of rands and a lot of the things cannot be replaced because of their sentimental value."

Drakenstein Municipality fire chief Derick Damons said more than 200 firefighters were still working long shifts to combat the flames.

Western Cape authorities are bracing for an increase in runaway fires because of the hot and windy conditions.

James Styan, spokesman for local government, environmental affairs and development planning MEC Anton Bredell, said very hot and windy conditions were exacerbating the situation.

"If a fire starts under these conditions, it will be very hard to control, it will be unpredictable and it will be fast moving," he said.

He urged residents to take necessary precautions.

His statement came a day after several fires blazed across the province.

It forced dozens of residents to evacuate their homes in Paarl and Vredehoek in Cape Town.

Pin It

Related Articles

Source: www.gov.co.za The Minister of Agriculture, Mr John Steenhuisen, today at OR Tambo International oversaw the arrival of the first consignment of one million high-potency Foot and mouth disease (FMD) vaccines, strengthening South Africa’s exp…
With new cases of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) being reported in parts of South Africa, many consumers are wondering whether it is still safe to consume beef and other red meat products.
Clover SA has warned that the inconsistent, non-standardised foot and mouth disease (FMD) eradication measures applied by the State for dairy products are putting the country’s dairy industry under serious threat. This is despite the fact that dairy…
ButtaNutt (Pty) Ltd has initiated a food safety product recall of limited batches of its Peanut Butter products after internal routine testing identified slightly elevated aflatoxin levels which were above the regulatory limit of 10 ppb (parts per b…
Family-run Botselo Mills, based in Delareyville, North West, has come a long way from delivering maize to nearby farmers in a single bakkie, to supplying over 120 tons a month — enough to feed a small city — to more than 1 176 Shoprit…