Forty-five houses have been left gutted, leaving at least 200 people homeless, following a devastating fire which swept through historic Wuppertal in the Western Cape.

The small Cederberg town saw its Moravian Mission Station, clinic and town hall completely destroyed this past weekend.

“The emergency care personnel and ambulances from the Western Cape government assisted the fire victims throughout the night and have been placed on standby to assist where required,” said the City of Cape Town’s Wilfred Solomons-Johannes.

Solomons-Johannes said the telecommunications infrastructure had been completely destroyed, leaving the community unable to communicate efficiently.

It is understood that the provincial disaster management centre will on Monday make an aerial assessment to determine the extent of the damage.

“That will be while health officials assist with the dispensing of medication, especially for the aged and frail care as many of the people living in the Wupperthal town are old people,” Solomons-Johannes added.

The South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) has been informed of the situation in order to assist with the provision of clothes, tents and food.

“The assistance from neighbouring towns and municipalities of Clanwilliam, Piketberg, Vredenburg, Malmesbury (Swartland), Cederberg, Matzikama and Bergriver is much appreciated in attempts to bring the raging blaze under control control,” Solomons-Johannes added.