Akrounta blaze said to be manageable as rain falls (update 3)

The large fire in the Akrounta area of Limassol is now manageable, authorities said on Sunday afternoon as light rain began to fall in the area, raising hopes of totally putting the blaze out.

The aim of the fire brigade is to bring the fire under control as soon as possible, it said.

The blaze was said to be out of control earlier in the day as aerial firefighters took to the sky with the first light of day.

According to the Department of Forests, the fire has destroyed an area of about 6.5 square kilometers, mainly of pine forest.

Akrountas community leader Ionas Ionas said that plastic irrigation pipes and crops were also destroyed.

Ionas said the fire started at a point next to a road in the community. “As soon as we became aware of the fire we tried to extinguish it, but this was not possible and unfortunately it spread” he said.

The fire burned along both sides of the Akrounta-Dierona road and into the pine forest of Kakomali.

On Sunday morning the perimeter of the fire was estimated to be 11km.

Ground forces operated throughout the night.

Due to the severity of the fire, the Icarus 2 and Iphestus plans were activated. The latter calls for a meeting of relevant ministers, which included those of defence, interior, foreign affairs, justice, transport and agriculture, which was held at the JRCC coordination centre in Larnaca.

After being briefed of developments, the ministerial committee decided help from the EU was not needed, so the two Canadair planes expected from Italy as part of the rescEU programme were not dispatched.

Two planes were expected to arrive in the afternoon from Jordan.

President Nikos Christodoulides is also believed to have been in contact with French President Emmanuel Macron, who offered to send two planes.

Visiting the coordination centre in Dierona on Saturday evening, Christodoulides said he expected a “difficult night”.

Asked about reports of suspicious activity in the area before the fire broke out, he said all allegations will be considered but fighting the fire was the priority, “and then we will look at that specific issue.”.

The fire broke out shortly after 1pm on Saturday and concerned areas of and near to the state forest in the areas of Akrounta and Dierona.

Police are continuing to investigate the cause of the fire.