"Hundreds of residents have been forced to evacuate their homes as wildfires continued to burn across parts of South Africa’s Eastern Cape for a fifth day on Saturday. Footage captured from the Oyster Bay area shows flames sweeping through forested land as firefighters work to contain the blaze. Large sections of farmland, natural vegetation, and residential homes have been affected. The Kouga Municipality Fire Services ordered the evacuation of residents in Lindenhoff as a precaution following renewed flare-ups near Oyster Bay. Emergency crews have also been conducting controlled burns along stretches of bushveld to prevent the fire from spreading further, but strong and shifting winds have worsened conditions and caused fires to reignite in several areas. According to Mario Ferreira, a project coordinator at the humanitarian organisation Gift of the Givers, the scale of the fires has spread to the point that they have overwhelmed local emergency services. “The fires are getting totally out of control,” he said, adding that the organisation was called in to assist by local authorities. “We immediately brought in some bomber planes. [What] we've got at the moment is two helicopters operating a spotter plane, a bomber plane, and another one coming in tomorrow to distinguish these fires,” he said. Kouga Municipality Executive Mayor Hattingh Bornman said the fires had already caused extensive damage across the region. “We are looking at hundreds of square kilometres of farmland and vegetation that have been damaged,” he said. “From a high-level view, it is almost the entire southern part of the municipality,” he continued, but confirmed the fires have not entered any towns. He said evacuations had taken place in three areas, including Kromrivier, the Carvalhos area and near Oyster Bay. While many residents were able to stay with family or friends, the fires have left at least 40 people near Jeffreys Bay without alternative accommodation. “We are housing those residents in our community, or giving them shelter, bedding, clothing, food, making sure that they have everything that they need to be as comfortable as they can,” Bornman said. Fire crews remain on high alert as unpredictable winds continue to threaten further flare-ups, with authorities urging residents in affected areas to stay alert and follow official guidance."