Firefighters from the Overstrand Municipality have spent the last 24 hours fighting an out of control fire about 10km from Hermanus in the Western Cape.

Chief Fire Officer of the Overstrand Municipality, Lester Smit told News24 that the fire started on Christmas Day around lunch time in the Karwyders kraal area and that firefighters worked through the night to try and get the fire under control.

On Wednesday morning, the fire was still out of control because of a strong north-westerly wind which has made it difficult to fight the fire and bring it under control.

Smit said that spot fires have also spread to a chicken farm in the area between structures that houses the chickens, so their main objective now is to protect these buildings.

While the thick bellowing smoke can be seen from Hermanus, Smit said that the fire was still far away from the town.

A Working on Fire unit, firefighters from the greater Overberg fire protection unit and other firefighters from surrounding stations have been brought in to fight the fire.

KEEP UPDATED on the latest news by subscribing to our FREE newsletter.

- FOLLOW News24 on Twitter