Forestry service warns of ‘red alert’ for fires

DUE to the extended heatwave, and given that the the risk of bushfires starting and burning out of control is at ‘red alert’, the Forestry Department urges the public for co-operation and to avoid any and all activities that might cause a fire.

In a statement, the department announced that it is taking all necessary measures for the effective protection of Cyprus’ forests, including the revocation of forest-firefighters on leave.

The public is called on to be extremely careful and avoid lighting a fire in its various activities to the maximum extent possible, as well as throwing cigarette butts on the ground.

It is also stressed that burning weeds and garbage is explicitly forbidden, while the outdoor use of tools or agricultural equipment that produce sparks or flames, such as angle-grinders, oxy-fuel welding, and electric welding, should be avoided.

People who intend to or must use such tools or equipment, even if they have taken all designated preventive measures, are urged to inform their nearest fire station for guidance or help, and, where possible, supervision.

The Forestry Department also urged the public to exercise extreme caution in avoiding fires starting from the fumes of electricity generators or water turbines found outdoors.

The statement also stressed that lighting fires to prepare or heat food is allowed only in dedicated spots at designated picnic sites.

Anyone who notices smoke or a fire burning in or near forests is urged to alert the nearest fire station, or call the Forestry Department on 1407 or the Fire Service at 112, immediately.

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.