Pelathousa fire under control (Update 4)

The blaze between Pelathousa and Polis Chrysochous is now under control, but firefighters will remain on scene overnight as an outbreak is possible.

Fire department spokesman Andreas Kettis said on Monday evening that the fire burned through about one and a half square kilometers of mainly scrubland but a house was destroyed

The fire broke out at around 1:42pm on dry grass and wild vegetation and led to some residents being evacuated from their homes.

The Turkish Cypriot house granted to well-known film director Panikos Chrysanthou suffered major damage. An official from the office of the interior ministry, which oversees Turkish Cypriot properties, said that an evaluation will now take place to see if any renovation works are possible.

Chrysanthou himself suffered minor burns and was sent to hospital but was discharged soon after, where he is now staying with his wife at a friend’s apartment,

Kettis had earlier stated that firefighters made good progress on most fronts but that the northern area, which is harder to access due to dense vegetation and other obstacles, was problematic.

However, later on Monday evening Kettis explained that the situation is now manageable despite the possibility of an outbreak.

The firefighting services enacted Icarus 2.

According to Kettis, dozens of vehicles rushed to the location to bring it under control – including eight trucks from the fire department, ten trucks from the forestry department, two from the game and fauna service, two trucks from civil defence and members of the police force.

Moreover, the forestry department was later reinforced with ten more vehicles, according to Kettis’ twitter post.

In addition, nine aircraft are operating interchangeably and one national guard helicopter coordinating.

It was initially reported that the coordinating helicopter was from the Aviation Operations Unit.

The British bases were also informed and are responded with two helicopters.

The ground forces have protected residencies, farms, and other real estate in the perimeter of Pelathousa community, according to Kettis’ twitter post.

The causes of the fire will be investigated at a later stage.