Filenews 11 September 2023 - by Ioanna Mantzipia
The worst nightmare that they wished for during the fire of Paramytha, was lived since Saturday noon by the firefighting forces of the Department of Forests and especially the state machine.
The fire that broke out at 13:28 near the Limassol State Forest, in an inaccessible area of Akrounta in the Limassol district, took on uncontrollable proportions within a short time and resulted in the ashes of about 6.5 square kilometers of forest vegetation.
The tongues of fire move rapidly, with the fire spreading rapidly, becoming impetuous and swallowing everything in its path. The wind gusts that reached 5 Beaufort, made the whole situation difficult in combination with the thick smoke that made the work of the aerial means even more difficult.
The titanic battle fought by ground forces on Saturday night bore fruit, avoiding the spread of the fire to the heart of the state forest.
The efforts of the firefighters of the Department of Forests and the Fire Brigade, the members of the Game Service, the District Administration and dozens of volunteers focused on the two largest fronts of the fire, east in the forest of Kakomalli and west in Kyparissia. As of 6:00 a.m. on Sunday, Plan Icarus II was reactivated, while the battle for extinguishing continued until late afternoon, until the fire was fully under control.
"We struggled a lot. It was an area with difficult topography and no roads," the director of the Department of Forests, Charalambos Alexandrou, told F. He explained that when the fire crossed the road of Dierona, there he raised the alarm, saying characteristically that "there our legs were cut". He explained that the Kakomalli Forest was protected, stressing that behind the fire is the human factor.
Number of persons questioned
The possibility that the fire is the act of an arsonist is not excluded by the Police and specifically by the ICF of Limassol, which from the first moment began investigations in the area to identify suspicious persons. As "F" is informed, late Saturday afternoon a number of statements were received from persons who were seen in the area or aroused suspicion. As of Sunday afternoon, nothing had emerged, while reports of suspicious facial movements near ground zero in the "Lithomagas" area were not verified. Police examinations identified the person in question and was found to be hiking in the area. In fact, the man reported that he realized the fire and immediately called 112 where he informed about a fire.
In the hands of the authorities there are also relevant videos proving that the fire was set maliciously and that it started from an uncultivated field, next to the road.
Investigations by the ICF of Limassol and the Fire Brigade will continue, while additional statements are expected to be received from residents of the communities of Akrounta and Dierona. The Special National Plan Hephaestus was activated
The President of the Republic, Nikos Christodoulides, was at the scene of the fire on Saturday night, accompanied by the Minister of Agriculture, Petros Xenophontos and the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry and General Coordinator of Fires, Andreas Gregoriou. Then they went to the coordination center that was set up at the stadium of Akrounta and were informed about the evolution of the firestorm.
By decision of the Minister of Agriculture and upon the recommendation of the Directorate of the Department of Forests, the Special National Plan Hephaestus was activated. On Sunday morning, a Ministerial Crisis Management Team was convened, which held a meeting at the ZENON Coordination Centre in Larnaka. The meeting was attended by the Ministers of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment, Defence, Transport, Communications and Works as well as the Directors-General of the Ministry of Agriculture, Interior and Justice, the Chief of the National Guard and the Deputy Chief of Police, the Commander of Civil Defence and all the supporting Services involved in extinguishing the fire.
The Ministerial Team, after being informed about the overnight firefighting operations and taking into account the prevailing situation, decided not to activate the rescEU mechanism following the expected arrival of the two aircraft from Jordan. Also, the arrival of the 2 Canadair aircraft that were ready to be sent from Italy was not deemed necessary.
It should be noted that President of the Republic had contact with Emmanuel Macron, who responded positively and made available to the Republic of Cyprus, flying means in case it is needed.
