Table Mountain Fires: How Blazes Reignite Life

Cape Town’s Table Mountain experienced yet another wildfire on 25 and 26 February 2025, plunging the iconic City Bowl into a smoky haze and kickstarting the city’s fire services into action.

The fire broke out in Newlands Ravine on the “back” of the mountain in the early hours of 25 February before being contained. However, the respite was only momentary, as typically strong winds reignited the blaze and pushed it over the “saddle” between Table Mountain and Devil’s Peak and towards the city’s Central Business District.

For travellers from around the world, a fire on Table Mountain, one of the world’s most iconic geographical features, is an utter disaster. However, Capetonians are well-weathered in the nature of wildfires in the Cape. In fact, major fires burned large tracts of Table Mountain National Park in 2000, 2006, 2009, 2015, and 2021.

Despite what you might think, this isn’t a case of locals becoming desensitised to natural disasters. Instead, Cape Town has a remarkable secret: much of its fynbos vegetation, part of the Cape Floral Region, depends on fire to survive.

But how can something so destructive also bring life? Read on to find out.

A Brief History of Fires on Table Mountain

According to South African historians, humans have been contributing to fires on and around Table Mountain for as long as 12,000 years. Botanists speculate that indigenous Khoekhoe peoples intentionally burned sections of the mountain to stimulate the regrowth of edible plants and to create grazing areas for their livestock.

In fact, when Vasco da Gama first sighted the Cape coastline in 1495, he named it “Terra de Fume” (Land of Smoke) because of the large plumes he could see from his ship. Sadly, today, while most fires are indeed caused by human activity, wildfires are unplanned and uncontrolled.

In 2000, thousands of hectares of Table Mountain National Park went up in flames, resulting in the destruction of dozens of hundreds of homes. Six years later, a fire started on the front side of the mountain, quickly spreading to the edges of several residential areas. The blaze spread over the course of three days, claiming one life and destroying nearly half of the remaining population of the endemic silver leaf protea tree.

A less damaging fire burned in March 2009, again fuelled by strong winds and dry summer conditions. In 2015, an immense fire spared Table Mountain itself but ravaged over 6,900 hectares of the Cape Peninsula, and forensic experts blamed arsonists for the disaster. Finally, in 2021, a wildfire destroyed the famous Rhodes Memorial restaurant and the Mostert’s Mill windmill, along with sections of the University of Cape Town’s Upper Campus. The university lost its Special Collections Library, which had contained over 1,300 collections, 85,000 books, and precious works of indigenous peoples. Again, the cause was deemed to be arson.

But despite all this destruction and the tragic loss of life, Table Mountain quickly returned to full bloom. Why?

Fynbos and Fire

Table Mountain falls within the Cape Floral Region, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Despite being the smallest of the world’s six floristic kingdoms – by a large margin – it boasts the highest concentration of non-tropical plant species on the planet. Much of this vegetation is fynbos, a type of scrubland that thrives on the Cape’s Mediterranean climate.

Examples of fynbos include the king protea, South Africa’s national flower, as well as several species that have become popular in gardens around the world, like watsonias, geraniums, and pincushion proteas. There are an estimated 2,285 plant species in Table Mountain National Park – and most are found nowhere else on Earth.

In contrast to much of the rest of South Africa, Cape Town experiences dry, hot summers complicated by intense winds. These conditions enable fires to spread rapidly, but endemic fynbos species actually depend on fire for their survival. Botanists assert that regular fires drive fynbos diversity, and since humans began causing fires here 12,000 years ago, the species that remain are totally reliant on fire.

Some species produce seeds that will only disperse during fires, while others have evolutionary adaptations that enable them to survive the extreme temperatures. In fact, after fires, hikers are likely to see all kinds of new growth shooting up from Table Mountain’s sandstone slopes, and quickly, the char and ash is replaced by resplendent greenery.

Speaking to The Daily Maverick, plant ecologist Dr. Jasper Slingsby explains that most fynbos species “require fire to complete their life cycle.” However, the frequency of intense fires is key.

Are Cape Fires Happening Too Frequently?

Dr. Slingsby adds that it takes six to eight years for fynbos on Table Mountain to reach maturity, at which point fire will continue the reproductive cycle. Sadly, the frequency of these wildfires is increasing at an alarming rate.

Some researchers believe that climate change is increasing the frequency of wildfires worldwide, but in Cape Town, there are other factors at play, too. Reckless, criminal arsonists cause widespread devastation before fynbos can reach maturity, while invasive plant species complicate the issue. Unlike indigenous species, pine trees and other alien plants burn readily, exacerbating fires that would otherwise remain under control.

Also speaking to The Daily Maverick, ecologist Professor Brian van Wilgen explains that as human populations grow around Table Mountain National Park, more human-caused fires occur. “Many plants that need more time to mature are being eliminated from the landscape as a result of increased fire frequencies,” he notes. “When this happens, other species are also affected. For example, Cape sugarbirds require lots of mature proteas for food and nesting.”

What’s Being Done to Mitigate Cape Fires?

Local community organisations like Friends of Table Mountain regularly conduct “hackathons” in Table Mountain National Park, recruiting volunteers to cut down invasive species. Not only does this encourage endemic biodiversity, but it also removes much of the fuel that enables wildfires to rage beyond useful limits.

Since the 2021 fire that gutted parts of the University of Cape Town, there has also been a concerted effort to fell many of the pine trees on the slopes of Table Mountain that once supplied timber to Dutch and British colonists. For ecologists, the solution to the problem involves three approaches:

• Creating more nature reserves to protect remaining fynbos.
• Clearing invasive species and preventing them from spreading.
• Conducting prescribed (controlled) burns to facilitate fires at the correct intervals.

“We really need to manage both invasive species and fire better,” Slingsby adds. “Unfortunately, this is more a social problem than a scientific one. We have the science to guide what needs to be done, or at least where to start – we must always continue to reassess and refine. It is more about navigating the social, political, legal, and financial hurdles to be able to put this knowledge into practice.”

While Cape Town’s latest Table Mountain fire is now under control, Table Mountain National Park and its remarkable flora and fauna remain under threat. The same epic concentration of species that makes this national park such an incredible place also makes it incredibly vulnerable to change, whether in the form of human development, climate change, or simply arson.

The fact remains: Table Mountain National Park is one of Cape Town’s best tourist attractions and will continue to offer stunning hikes and views for generations to come. In the meantime, however, South African National Parks warns hikers to avoid areas affected by fires until authorities give them the all-clear.

So, when you visit Cape Town – Africa’s best city to visit – on your South African safari, make sure you take a moment to appreciate Table Mountain and its biodiversity. After all, nature is fragile, and we must conserve it if we want to keep enjoying it.