■ It was a busy start to the fire season for Volunteer Wildfire Services (VWS) last weekend with six crews being deployed to fires in the Overberg and Boland. Two crews were deployed to Caledon on Saturday November 19, while four VWS crews joined Cape Winelands Fire Department, CapeNature, Working on Fire and other agencies to fight the flames raging in the Banhoek and Jonkershoek valleys last week. VWS crews will be on standby every weekend from the first weekend in December to the last weekend in April. Pictured are VWS crew members Nathan Heyns, Etienne le Roux, Kelly Vlieghe, Carin de Villiers, Pia Nänny and Adam Venter heading off the mountain after their shift.