Filenews 29 June 2021 - by Vasos Vassiliou
Explosive cocktails created in the countryside gradually lead to the outbreak of fires within residential areas, as happened in the case of Tala and as the years go by the situation will deteriorate, with unforeseen consequences.
The risk was raised by the abandonment of large areas in the countryside cultivated with low vegetation species (which, in large part, acted as a fire lane) due to the expansion of the growth zones (without taking into account the fire factor) due to the change in climatic conditions, due to the fact that some local authorities do not take care to control vegetation at their limits as well as other factors.
As explained in "F" the director of the Department of Forests, Charalambos Alexandros, on the occasion of the fire in Tala, fires that break out near residential areas constitute the worst form of fires since depending on the circumstances it is possible to burn not only houses but also cause deaths, due to the speed with which they spread. He said the Tala fire was detected by a firefighting plane on patrol and within ten minutes carried out the first pitch but as he explained, it was already too late for the first homes affected since the disaster was a matter of minutes. They could have burned down ten houses, but the intervention of the firefighting forces prevented the worst.
Asked which areas are most at risk from a fire that could also cause human casualties, the Director of the Department of Forests said the Pitsilia Valley, Platres and Marathasa Valley are in a high-risk zone. Especially from the Marathasa valley, under conditions, the fire can pass like a tornado, he said.
On the occasion of the fire the other day, Mr. Alexandrou said that generally speaking, there seems to have been no complete fire-fighting planning when the development of some areas began, and indicated that the owners themselves should have a concern as to what might happen in the event of a fire, when the surrounding area is scattered with dry grasses , branches, tall trees, etc. He further explained that the gradual abandonment of the countryside played a negative role in the aspect of non-expansion of fires. When development began in some areas, 30 or 40 years ago, fire-fighting planning might not have been needed as much, but with the dimensions of the building expansion, measures are needed today, he said.
"In local authorities responsibility within residential areas"
In the meantime, the EAC is conducting an investigation into the cause of the fire in Tala, which was attributed to sparks in its cables. Mrs . Christina Papadopoulou, speaking on behalf of the Authority, indicated that the fire did not break out in a forest area where EAC is responsible for pruning and maintenance. There is a network of 16,000 km throughout Cyprus but within residential areas the responsibility for the overhead power lines lies with the local authorities, Ms. Papadopoulou. He explained that every year all overhead cables within forest areas are checked and clones approaching the Authority's wires are pruned. Even in residential areas when we are informed by local authorities that trees are affecting our air network, a workshop is sent and prunes said. He clarified, however, that EAC cannot know at any time how much each tree grows. He urged citizens not to plant trees under EAC cables.
Especially for fires caused by short circuit electrical cables, over time they range to 5%. In more detail, in the period 2000-2019, 36% of fires are due to agricultural activities, 18% to travellers, 11% to dwellings, 9% to military activities, 8% to excursion activities, 5% to dog burning, 3% to hunting activities, 2% to forest work, 2% due to other causes and 1% to rally.
Generally 84% of fires (i.e. 880 that broke out in the above period) are attributed to anthropogenic factors, and 16% (172) to natural causes (lightning).
