Paphos fire under control, no evacuations needed (Update 2)

A wild bushfire raging close to the Stavrokonnou community in Paphos was put under control in the early hours of Saturday morning, burning some 75 donums of land.

The flames had sparked fears that people living in the nearby Fasoula community would have to be evacuated – with the fire service announcing evacuations had begun shortly before midnight – only for the situation to be contained within the hour and a subsequent statement clarifying evacuations would no longer be necessary.

Fire service spokesman Andreas Kettis said the flames began at 8:53pm and by midnight the fire was raging on three fronts. “Ground forces are working tirelessly to contain the fire,” he said.

Four firefighting trucks from Paphos were at the scene and six from the forestry department.

The timing of the fire was exceptionally difficult as the brunt of the fire service was fighting to keep another fire in Limassol’s Alassa region under control, which had been raging since 2pm.

Efforts to put out the flames were undertaken by members of the fire service, forestry department, SupportCY group, game fund, police and civil defence.

Police were investigating the cause of the flames.