An army helicopter and two fixed-wing "water bombers" were deployed to the Vermaaklikheid area of the Garden Route where a massive veld fire has been raging since Sunday.
A spotter plane is also in the air to assist.
So far more than 3 000 hectares of veld and eight houses were destroyed in the fires which have claimed one life. On Tuesday, 65-year-old Working On Fire pilot Nico Heyns was killed when his helicopter crashed about 40-km from Riversdale while assisting in fire-fighting operations.
Meanwhile, authorities from the Garden Route District Municipality said as of noon on Wednesday about 60% of the fires were contained "with two active flanks and several hotlines" still being attended to.
It said the main objective was to protect "structures" in Vermaaklikheid while a "huge area was burned out to make the area safe".
Meanwhile, several hikers were evacuated from the Otter Trail following a fire reported on a plantation in the Tsitsikamma area.
SANParks spokesperson, Nandi Ngwadlamba, said however that the Storms River rest camp is unaffected and remained open.
