Cyprus Mail 5 July 2021 - by George Psyllides
As a deadly forest fire in the south-eastern foothill of Troodos was gradually brought under control on Monday questions emerged over the state’s response and the apparent failure to implement recommendations made after another large forest fire in 2016.
The fire, which broke out in the Arakapas area of Limassol at around 2pm on Saturday, was declared under control at 8am Monday.
Fanned by strong winds, it raced through a largely forested area, destroying everything in its path, including homes and businesses.
Four people died in the blaze while at least 10 communities were affected. Experts said the flames raced through eight kilometres in around five hours, eventually burning an area of around 55 square kilometres.
Forestry department director Charalambos Alexandrou said most reignitions had been dealt with, as he lamented the loss of life.
“We prayed there would not be any victims… unfortunately we experienced the loss of human lives. It’s shocking,” he said.
The four victims were workers from Egypt aged 35, 29, 28, and 24. Their charred bodies were found in a ravine on Sunday morning by friends who had gone out looking for them after they went missing on Saturday afternoon.
They had last contacted their employer at 4.30pm saying they were headed to the village. Their employer reported them missing to the authorities later in the day after they failed to respond to his calls. Their car was found burnt in the ravine but there was no sign of them. They were found about 500 metres further down.
Police arrested a 67-year-old man on suspicion of starting the fire. The man was allegedly burning stubble before the fire started at nearby dry reed beds.
Residents of the area who had to evacuate their homes spoke of a lack of coordination and delay in responding to the fire. It should be noted however that two other fires in Limassol and Nicosia had broken out just before and had to be dealt with.
On Monday, questions emerged as to the state’s ability to tackle large fires and the apparently unfulfilled pledges that followed a forest fire in Solea in 2016, which destroyed around 18 square kilometres in four days.
Among the decisions at the time was the procurement of two large firefighting planes like the ones dispatched by Greece at the weekend and of a cutting-edge mobile coordination centre.
Over 600 people worked this weekend to put out the fire including people from the forestry department, the fire service, civil defence, the game fund, and others. Over 70 fire engines were involved in the operation while drones of the National Guard were used to map the area and keep an eye on outbreaks.
Fire engines and helicopters will remain in the area on Monday to fight any blazes that break out.
