This past week, South Africa got a very nasty reminder of just how bad wild fires can be. Had this been detected early on, lives could have been saved and millions of dollars of damages could have been avoided.

The area around the small coastal town of Knysna, Western Cape province, South Africa was engulfed in fires spreading from the surrounding forest and veld into the town itself. Large portions of the historical town has been destroyed and at least seven people have been killed so far.

The cause has not been officialy established

More pictures: https://twitter.com/vwsfires/media