South African National Parks (SANParks) is pleased to announce the reopening of Deer Park in the Northern Section of Table Mountain National Park (TMNP) following its closure in April due to the devastating fire that destroyed more than 650 hectares of land.
The rehabilitation work has been successfully completed and the contractor was appointed to fell and remove dangerous trees.
According to Frans van Rooyen, TMNP Park Manager: “To date 118 dead and dangerous trees were felled and they produced a total of 472 (3m) logs, ranging from 19cm -96cm and the total volume of wood = 200.6 m3 was removed. This process has allowed us to invite public members to collect wood which has helped us with the restoration process. The wood permit was issued to reduce fuel load, and other wood was delivered to Redhill and Imizamo Yethu settlement areas.”
The fuel reduction, wood collection and road maintenance will still continue for the next two months. This will be done while the area is open to the public and SANParks asked visitors to exercise caution during this time.
The Rhodes memorial/Estate and Game Camp will still remain closed until further notice and the contractor has started with the tree felling process.
“Teams have been hard at work implementing rehabilitation plans to allow for the re-opening of the two areas that are still closed off to the public and we kindly request users and visitors to these areas to continue exercising patience and allow the restoration work to continue without any obstructions,” he said.
SANParks thanked the public for the ongoing support and promised to keep updating them on the recovery of the area.
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