Fellow Capetonians, organisations and City departments are rallying behind 2,604 displaced residents in Dunoon Site 5, prioritising rapid site recovery and assisting with essentials to help these families rebuild their lives with dignity.
Cape Town, South Africa (15 January 2026) – In the wake of the devastating fire at Dunoon Site 5 on 9 January, relief efforts have remained centred on the 632 households and 2,604 individuals now working to recover from the loss of their homes and belongings.
The primary focus has been on ensuring these families are supported through this incredibly difficult transition as they rebuild from scratch.
Thanks to the extraordinary bravery of members of Fire and Rescue Services, who battled high winds and used helicopter water-bombing to protect hundreds of nearby homes, officials are grateful to report that no lives were lost.
To help families begin the rebuilding process as quickly as possible, City teams have worked around the clock to restore dignity and safety to the area by clearing debris and conducting repairs to basic services infrastructure. This includes teams from Informal Settlements Management, Urban Waste Management, Disaster Risk Management, and Fire and Rescue Services, among others.
According to the City, R12m has also been set aside with contractors on hand ready to do re-blocking for safer access routes between households and future fire mitigation. The City adds that this work is dependent on community consent and that verified personal details of affected residents have been given to the government for urgent release of reconstruction kits and further relief.
Yesterday, the Mayor, Geordin Hill-Lewis, joined teams and NPO partners to distribute donated essentials by kind Capetonians at various City fire station drop-off points.
“Residents here in Dunoon Site 5 are very grateful for the kindness shown by so many Capetonians who dropped off donations at our various fire stations. This was a devastating fire for so many, and once again, Cape Town has shown great spirit and togetherness in response.
“We appreciate the work of our NPO partners, the brave firefighters, City staff who spent long hours working on-site and reaching out to all affected, and all Capetonians who have made a contribution,” said Mayor Hill-Lewis.
Sources: Linked above.
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