The fire that raged through the southern peninsula of Cape Town started near Muizenberg on 1 March. It raged day and night and was only declared as “extinguished” on 9 March. It burnt through more than 5 000ha of vegetation. More than 2 000 people rose to the challenge of fighting this particular blaze.

At the same time, many others were fighting a number of other fires that were raging across the province. Our thoughts are with the family and friends of those who lost their lives in the process.

This past week, I had the opportunity to join the Cape of Good Hope SPCA on a fire search and rescue walk on Klein Constantia farm. The primary focus was to look for porcupines – in need of rescue, or otherwise.

We did not find any.

Actually, we found very little.

I thought about writing this blog and telling you about how I felt, walking through what once must have been a beautiful forest, teaming with life and sounds – a forest that is now basically, at first glance, a wasteland and quiet, except for the sound of chainsaws.

But I decided not to. I decided to show you some of what I saw.

The startling contrast between the vineyards and the burnt mountainside

Closer, one can see that most of the vegetation that once covered the mountain, is no longer. That which is left is burnt

One can be forgiven for thinking that somehow snow had fallen. A thick layer (ankle-deep and deeper) of grey ash covered the ground and we were warned to step carefully as there were holes filled to the brim with ash

Some areas were still smouldering

This tree was still burning. Fortunately there was nothing ‘burnable’ left around it to set alight

As we walked, ash clouds filled the air

This little slug-eater snake did not escape the fire

You had to look really carefully, but there was some life to be found

While we were walking around, chainsaws were constantly whining in the distance. Areas have to be secured, and unstable and unsafe trees have to be removed. Rain will bring more green shoots, but it also brings the possibility of rock- and mudslides. Please obey the authorities and do not venture where areas have been closed to the public. There are good reasons for these closures – your safety as well as giving nature time to recover.

(Visit Volunteer Wildfire Services' Facebook page and read through the timeline for a full rundown of what happened during the fires.)

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