Firefighters try to extinguish a fire in the Jagger Library, at the University of Cape Town. Photo: RODGER BOSCH/AFP via Getty Images
A wildfire has gutted the University of Cape Town, destroying parts of the institution’s Jagger Library.The fire started as a “vacated vagrant fire” on the nearby Table Mountain, and spread down to the historic institution.
A forest fire burns out of control on the foothills of Table Mountain, above the University of Cape Town. Photo: RODGER BOSCH/AFP via Getty Images
“After the initial investigation, it is surmised that the origin of the fire is from a vacated vagrant fire,” read a statement from the South African National Parks Corporate Communications department.
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The path of the fire was eased by “high temperatures…and an extremely low relative humidity of under 10 percent”.
GettyImaFirefighters try to extinguish a fire in the Jagger Library, at the University of Cape Town. Photo: RODGER BOSCH/AFP via Getty Images
“The fire spread rapidly in the direction of Rhodes Memorial,” the statement continued.“One of the major contributors to the rapid rate of spread was the very old pine trees and their debris. The fire created its own wind that further increased the rate of spread. The excessive amount of smoke and related updrafts made it impossible for the aerial support to slow the rate of spread.”
Firefighters carry a colleague who collapsed due to the smoke and the heat. Photo: RODGER BOSCH/AFP via Getty Images
Thousands of students have been evacuated as authorities warn it could be days before the fire is fully extinguished.Along with the library, the fire destroyed the country’s oldest working windmill, Mostert’s Mill, which has stood since 1796.
the wreckage of Mostert's Mill, a historic windmill built in 1796. Photo: RODGER BOSCH/AFP via Getty Images
It is not exactly clear to what extent the blaze has damaged the library and other university buildings.“At this stage, we can confirm the Reading Room is completely gutted, and thankfully the fire detection system in place triggered the fire shutter nearby, thereby preventing the spread of the fire to other parts of the library,” Ujala Satgoor, Executive Director of the Jagger Library, said in a statement.“Some of our valuable collections have been lost, however a full assessment can only be done once the building has been declared safe and we can enter the building.”
Students evacuate from their residences of the University of Cape Town. Photo: RODGER BOSCH/AFP via Getty Images
The University of Cape Town has long stood as one of South Africa’s most progressive institutions. During the apartheid era, the university defied the government by continuing to admit Black students. As a result, the campus played host to a number of anti-apartheid demonstrations that were often violently policed by authorities.In the 1980s, the university rejected the government’s “Quotas Bill” that would limit the number of Black students in higher education.
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