EAC is continuing efforts to reconnect communities affected by fire (Updated)

Efforts continued on Tuesday to restore power in all the communities affected by the fire over the weekend, Cyprus electricity authority’s spokeswoman Christina Papadopoulou said.

Papadopoulou told the Cyprus News Agency that utility poles that supported power lines were also destroyed during the fire that started in Arakapas on Saturday. The blaze killed four Egyptian farm workers, affected ten communities and destroyed 55 square kilometres of trees, properties and crops.

The electricity authority’s goal is to restore the power to all the communities affected by the fire by the end of the day, Papadopooulou said.

However, the spokeswoman added that there were many burned utility poles, while the authority must also replace the electricity meters in the burned homes.

On Monday, after the fire was brought under control in the morning, the EAC reconnected power to Eptagonia village, Iamatikis school, as well as the communities of Odou, Dierona, Melini and Arakapas.

The excavating works to open up the road and give access to EAC crews to replace the destroyed utility poles restarted at 5am on Tuesday, Papadopoulou said.

“There will be a scheduled power interruptions to repair a fault and restore power,” she said.

Meanwhile, the communities of Sikopetria, Profitis Ilias and Ora are being supplied with electricity through generators as the rugged terrain makes access difficult for excavators and  crews, hence they cannot replace the burned utility poles quickly.

Ayioi Vavatsinias community also has electricity access through generators, Papadopoulou added.

Residents in the affected communities were warned to be careful, as the power would be activated immediately.

In a written announcement later in the day, EAC warned people to “assume that their facilities constantly…have electricity”.

The EAC is conducting its own inspections of premises, but the authority called on people to contact EAC in case of damage to their electrical installations, at 25205202 and 25205221.

The authority said its priority is to complete the repair work as soon as possible, and thanked all the affected residents for their understanding.