Buffer zone fires brought under control

TWO large fires destroyed a total of 70 hectares of land on Sunday, as Cyprus suffered the biggest heat wave in the island’s history.

The fires took place in the buffer zone near Athienou village and in the area near the village of Dora in the district of Limassol.

According to Markos Kyprianou, spokesman for the Fire Department, the service handled 62 fires and 38 special requests over the weekend. High temperatures caused most of the incidents.

“It only takes a match or a cigarette butt for a fire to start in this heat and for it to burn vast areas of land,” Kyprianou said.

The fire outside the village of Dora broke out at 7:00 in the morning on Sunday, destroying 40 hectares of wild vegetation, carob trees and almond trees. The Fire Service was joined by officials from the Forestry Department and the Game Fund to extinguish the fire, as the area between Dora and Mousere is rough and inaccessible.

In Athienou, the fire broke out in the buffer zone at around 6pm on Sunday and destroyed 30 hectares of wild vegetation. It was finally extinguished at 9.30pm with the help of six fire vehicles, three of which were from the occupied areas. The vehicles, after receiving permission from the UNFICYP, entered the buffer zone and succeeded in extinguishing the fire, despite the strong winds that delayed their attempts.

“There has been an increase in the number of fires this year,” Kyprianou said. “This also has to do with the heavy rains in the beginning of the year which caused a great growth of vegetation. Then, the heat dries everything up, and fires begin more easily.”

Kyprianou also asked “all citizens, wherever they are” to call 199 or 112 immediately if they spot a fire.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.