South Africa emergency services say firefighters are trying to extinguish an underground fire along the M1 highway near Braamfontein, near Johannesburg city centre.
Officials closed the M1 to all traffic between the Selby off-ramp and the Crown interchange, with diversions redirecting motorists.
Johannesburg Emergency Management Services spokesperson Robert Mulaudzi said the fire started early Wednesday morning and an investigation into the cause is ongoing.
“City of Johannesburg Emergency Management Services firefighters are currently attending to an underground fire incident, which was reported earlier this morning along the M1, the North double-decker highway,’’ Mulaudzi said in a video posted on X.
“It’s mostly underground cables, which are mostly supplying electricity around the area of Braamfontein and surrounding areas. We’ve got our colleagues from City Power who are here to make sure that they can open up the tunnels as we continue to extinguish the fire. We don’t have any injuries that have been reported,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Cape Winelands District Municipality in the Western Cape says its teams have made good progress in containing a fire between Wolwekloof outside Ceres and Romansrivier.
The spokesperson, Joanne Otto, said the cooler weather has helped firefighters control the blaze.
“No reports of property damage have been received; however, teams spent a large portion of the night successfully protecting homes.
"Fresh ground teams will replace those who have been on the lines for 24 hours, and together with the fire vehicles and crew, they will continue to engage in active fire fighting, monitoring, and mopping up where necessary,” Otto added.
South Africa has battled multiple fire outbreaks this year.
In January, residents were evacuated from small coastal towns near Cape Town in South Africa as wildfires swept down from surrounding mountains and burned out of control for days.
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