The wildfire which came close to calling for the evacuation of two villages in western Paphos on Wednesday, resulted in the largest concentration of firefighters ever to assemble in the district in the last few years.
According to Fire Services spokesman Andreas Kettis, 22 fire engines, four tracked vehicles, as well as seven aerial craft, was used to combat the fire as well as dozens of firemen from the Fire Services, Forestry Department and members of the Cyprus Civil Defence and other state services.
The fire was first reported at 13:40 on Wednesday afternoon just outside the village of Stavrokonnos and due to the high winds, the fire spread rapidly to cover an area of one square kilometre and reaching the outskirts of Mamonia, Ayios Giorgos and Trachipedoulas.
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The severity of the situation prompted the relative services to prepare for the evacuation of the communities however the fire was eventually brought under control at around 18:20.
“The fire was brought under total control at 18:20 after destroying one-and-a-half square kilometres of brush, and some trees,” announced Kettis in a press release on Thursday morning.
“Preventative measures were taken and two fire trucks and six mobile firefighting units were stationed in the area overnight,” said Kettis adding that the cause of the fire has as yet not been established.
Firefighters in Nicosia responded to a wildfire in the Psimolofou area at 14:53 on Wednesday afternoon with two fire trucks from the Lakatamia fire station and an additional mobile fire fighting unit and two tractors from the Nicosia District Office.
The fire in Psimolofou was brought under control at 16:35 after burning five hectares of wild brush and olive trees.