Residents in Kouga faced terrifying fire ordeals, with rapid evacuations and heartbreaking losses. Community support shone as brave neighbours helped one another escape, showcasing resilience amid destruction.

Within a few hours, a calm afternoon along the Kromme River turned into a fight for survival as fast-moving flames tore through parts of the Kouga municipality, leaving residents with seconds to decide what to save and how to escape.

For one woman living on a smallholding near Long Ridge Road, close to the picturesque river, there was no time for planning, only instinct as the fire closed in.

"You feel completely overwhelmed. I can't even put into words how I felt," the woman said as she described her ordeal of narrowly escaping the fires that affected the area. "The adrenaline pumps through your body so intensely that you can't think about anything else. I couldn't even speak. I was in absolute shock."

Fire spreads as conditions deteriorate

The fires, driven by the dry conditions and changing wind directions, spread from the Oyster Bay side on Thursday, she said. Homes along the Kromme River and elsewhere in the Kouga region were threatened, and residents were forced to flee.

The Kouga municipality issued several evacuation directives on Thursday, especially for communities along the R330, as raging and uncontrollable blazes spread through parts of the region.

The woman, who did not want...