More than 120 firefighters are fighting the massive fire, and four helicopters have been deployed to aid in the effort, according to a press release shared by a Twitter account linked to the park.
“The fire created its own wind that further increased the rate of spread. The excessive amount of smoke and accompanying updrafts made it impossible for the air support to slow the spread,” added the park.
The statement said the Rhodes Memorial Restaurant had burned down and “the fire has also spread to the field above the Cape Town University campus.”
A woman at the park said she was “trying to avoid the fire” in a video posted to Twitter that showed a plume of smoke in the background. In a later tweet, Lisette Lombard said she was safe but her car was “destroyed”.
“I’ve never seen a fire spread so unpredictably fast. I have so much respect for our firefighters,” she added.
The cause of the fire, which broke out on the slope of Table Mountain on Sunday morning, is unknown, Cape Town Fire and Rescue spokesman Jermaine Carelse told CNN.
Authorities were notified locally around 8:45 a.m. (2:45 a.m.ET) and are currently fighting the fire, which is being fueled by the wind, Carelse said.
The fire spread from the area surrounding Philip Kgosana Drive, which borders Table Mountain National Park, to the Rhodes Memorial that continued towards the University of Cape Town buildings, Carelse said.
Earlier on Sunday, the National Park Twitter account requested that spectators “refrain from entering the area and keep the area clear for emergency vehicles to pass” as the fire “got out of control.”
It added that all walkers in the Newlands and Rhodes Memorial area had to evacuate with immediate effect.