In early March 2015, the largest single wildfire in the history of the Table Mountain National Park ripped through the Cape Peninsula, razing 5,120 hectares of fynbos, four homes and the Tintswalo Atlantic luxury resort.
Cape Town residents united behind a team of over 2,000 wildland and urban firefighters from across the country as they used dozens of fire-fighting helicopters and spotter aircraft to avert disaster and loss of life.
A week after the fire began, the Mother City felt mugged by what had been dubbed The #CapeFire.
Today, a large-format hardcover graphic book about the fire titled, The Cape Aflame – Cape Town’s Dance with Fire, will be officially launched at Groot Constantia. Written by Capetonians for Capetonians, it’s 176 pages comprising 200 photographs, 30,000 words and a detailed fire progression map to tell the definitive story of the 2015 Muizenberg Fire.
The book explores the context of the wildfire, the history of the Cape Peninsula’s fynbos biome, and the rejuvenating power of fire on our local ecology. It goes on sale today for R395 and is available to buy at www.capeaflame.com, as well as at Wizardz stores. Price includes free delivery anywhere in South Africa.
All profits from the sale of the book go to Cape-based volunteer wildland firefighting, animal welfare and other public-benefit organisations.
Every picture tells a story. Know the story. Keep The Cape Aflame.
Photography courtesy Andrew Hagen, Stanwell Slater, Jon Erik Munro and Darren Stewart
Can’t for my copy to be delivered ordered it back in October
It’s a magnificent book which I was fortunate to have delivered to my door on the day of the launch. Thank you Mandy and David for the fab birthday pressie to Rob and me. The book is well written and illustrated with excellent pics of the inferno which raged for days this March.