May inaugurates what the Cyprus Forestry Department has described as its ‘dangerous period’ which extends up until September.
Already two wild fires, although ‘small’ in scale, may be a taste of things to come.
A fire on April 27 and a second on Wednesday kept fire services busy and according to Forestry Department Director Takis Tsintides the steady rise in temperatures and the emergence of shrubbery have primed forested and rural areas for wildfires.
“We are now in the fire season. The temperatures are over 33°C in Nicosia and the humidity has returned so shrubs have returned while temperatures are also expected to go up this weekend,” Tsintides told state radio on Thursday.
“We like to think that we are ready to deal with the fires and the big dangers ahead especially in June, July and August,” he added, saying that one of the fire-fighting planes sent to Israel to assist in combatting wildfires in the neighbouring country has returned to Cyprus and that the helicopters available for fire fighting services were on the ready.
“It appears that the recent fire was started from activity from beekeepers working on their hives. The police are still looking into the cause,” said Tsintides referring to Wednesday’s fire.
Existing protocols of cooperation between Cyprus, Greece and Israel make provision for aerial and other fire fighting assistance between the three countries.
Understaffed and under-funded, the Forestry Department has a herculean task of ensuring the safety and protection of the island’s 9,251 km2 of forests.
“People escaping to the forest also increase the risk of fires. A lot of people also do their own construction work on their summer homes and that too is a fire risk. Illegal crop burning by farmers is also a risk and it still happens. Members of the public should also report people illegal burning in their fields, ” said Tsintides.
“Members of the public can call 1407 or 112 if they see a fire and we or the Fire Services will respond. It is also very important to provide a specific location of where the fire is,” concluded the Director