Filenews 17 June 2024 - by Despina Psillou
The Department of Forests and the Fire Brigade are sounding the alarm about wild fires, due to the drought that preceded it and the extremely high temperatures prevailing on the island, on the occasion of the two very difficult incidents in Pafos and Farmakas. As the director of the Department of Forests, Savvas Ezekiel, told "F", the consequences of a fire can be particularly painful, we can lose entire communities. At the same time, the spokesman of the Fire Brigade, Andreas Kettis, tells us that the behavior of fires has changed, since they break out and expand more easily.
Fires occur more frequently, are larger and more dangerous, Ezekiel said. "We have an increase in fires due to weather conditions. They started noticeably earlier, from March and it seems that they are more dangerous, they are larger", he noted and clarified that it can be difficult to extinguish in combination with the relief of the area, the winds and the dense vegetation.
"Our goal is the immediate intervention for extinguishing, in the minimum time and with the largest volume of forces. To nip them in the bud and not allow them to develop into mega fires." The enemy in their efforts, as Mr. Ezekiel notes, is the dry winter that preceded it, as fuel is increased. "There is no moisture in the plants, which enhances the spread of fires," he said.
"It's an explosive combination of the arid winter and the extremely high temperatures of summer. We arrived in June with 46 degrees, the slightest mistake by anyone can be fatal," he said, adding that fires are usually the responsibility of the human factor, whether it is negligence or malicious actions.
The summer ahead of us looks like it will be particularly difficult, he said, stressing that he is fully alert and mobilized. However, he said, "forest officials and forest firefighters are a certain number. They are almost the same people who operate in the fires and with the constant incidents they will be exterminated. We have already had to operate in seven difficult fire incidents." He recalled, in fact, the adverse conditions, the extremely high temperatures on the front, the overnight stays, the inaccessibility of the areas.
"For example, it was Psathi – Polemi, they had not yet left the spot and had to go to Trachypedoula – Kelokedara, the same people. Before they finished with these two, he started in Farmakas, threatening the Machairas forest as well," he noted, adding that there is a need for additional staff, which was accepted yesterday by the Ministry of Finance, in order to fill some gaps.
"Aircraft help, but they are not the ones that put out fires. Fires are put out by forest officials and forest firefighters," he said, expressing his gratitude for their efforts. "That's why I am sorry when I hear accusations and talk about negligence. Under no circumstances do they slacken. On the contrary, they are exposed to great risks."
Ezekiel appealed to people to be very careful and report if they see smoke or anyone moving suspiciously.
For his part, the spokesman of the Fire Service, Andreas Kettis, noted that the behaviour of the fires has changed. They are easy to ignite and expand, because environmental and climatic conditions have changed. We are no longer looking at the number of fires, but at their intensity and the destruction they leave behind. It is no longer easy to suppress fires because they are much more intense and much more difficult."
In relation to the summer season, the start of which is already disheartening, he noted that it was something they had been distinguishing since March due to the drought. "Summer has just arrived, and yet we have had many difficult fires," he said, urging everyone to be extra careful.
