Close to two dozen homes were affected by the two days of wildfires in the Paphos area, with the blazes destroying five homes completely, the deputy district governor of Paphos Giorgos Chrysafinis said on Thursday.
Meanwhile, firefighters remain in the area to deal with any situation that might arise, as on Wednesday there were a number of flare-ups, fire services spokesman Andreas Kettis said.
Chrysafinis reported that 15 houses were affected in Psathi, of which two were destroyed.
In Polemi, four homes were affected, of which two were destroyed, while another two were affected in Choulou, of which one was destroyed.
He said damage was also sustained by a 150 KW photovoltaic park.
Since then, 38 residents in Choulou affected by the fire have returned to their homes.
The Red Cross Office in Paphos said that another ten people (four families) will remain at hotel due to the damages sustained to their properties.
The fire broke out on Tuesday near Polemi, with continuous flare-ups between the communities of Polemi and Kourdaka.
It is estimated to have destroyed eight square kilometres of land, including houses and animal farms.
Chrysafinis said that the damage surveillance has finished, however the district administration is on alert and if something is not detected they will come back, he added.
“We are continuing with the work assessment.”
Meanwhile, the agriculture ministry’s agriculture department is taking applications for damage restitution as of Thursday.
Kettis said that no ground force has left the area still, while aircraft remain at the ready to deal with any fire that may arise.
Commenting on the situation overnight, Kettis said that flare-ups were dealt with by both ground and air forces to contain them.
Regarding a fire that broke out in the community of Yiolou on Wednesday afternoon, the spokesman said it was immediately contained.
He added that the night passed by quietly, while some small fires within the burnt area were taken care of by ground forces, noting that the forces around the perimeter of the fire remain on alert.
Asked about the causes of the fire, Kettis said that there are some information and indications that are evaluated by the police and the fire services, based on their expertise.
“We need to be vigilant and there and where there is information or someone notices something the police should be informed.”
On his part, the director of the forestry department Savvas Ezekiel said: “Our mobilisation to extinguish the fire in the Paphos district was immediate.”
He added that it was a very difficult fire due to the special conditions in the area.
Ezekiel said that this was a very difficult fire due to the special conditions in the area, the strong winds reaching 5 Beaufort maybe more, the dense vegetation in the area and the abandonment of the countryside even within the communities themselves which were near each other.
A fire department spokesman told the Cyprus Mail that a flare-up was noticed at 9am on Thursday and was “put out very easily by 9.20am”.
He said the firefighters were already on the scene, monitoring the burnt area overnight, and were “just 150m from the flare-up” when it happened.
The spokesman said the flare-up was “not caused by the wind”.
The agriculture ministry has promised immediate compensation to farmers, who sustained crop and livestock losses in the latest wildfires.
Agriculture Minister Maria Panayiotou said the compensation would be “immediate and in full”.
In a post on X, Panayiotou thanked everyone who fought against the fires with “remarkable dedication and courage”, noting that “conditions were extremely difficult”.
She also thanked Jordan, Egypt and Greece for sending firefighting aircraft.
Click here to change your cookie preferences