Proteas and other indigenous vegetation (fynbos) ablaze at Stormhoek yesterday

All hands to the water pumps. Stormhoek vineyard work took a back seat yesterday as a fire crossed our boundary and threatened the Viognier vineyard and a block of Chenin Blanc.
We had a second major fire (after the Christmas conflagration) burning through our valley last week, this time coming from the south.
On Friday, a few hours of air-borne water-bombing seemed to put it out. But after a couple of hot and wind free days, a south-easterly gale started up and the fire was running again.
The helicopters came back yesterday afternoon and drowned our end of the blaze.
2 or 3 kilometres from the Stormhoek vineyards, the fire is still burning through the mountain fynbos, but it is burning towards a scene of desolation; hundreds of hectares of charred stumps and ash indicate that it may burn itself out by the weekend.