A total of five hectares of dry grass, wild vegetation, waste materials and large piles of rubbish were burned in the fire that broke out in Arsos on Thursday.

Community leader Yiannakis Yiannakis on Friday said that he did not rule out that the fire was started maliciously, as recently “pallet loads of clothing pressed into cubes” had allegedly been transported to the old garbage dump.

“We located, in a box and in an envelope, logos of two companies, which we forwarded to the police for investigation,” he said, adding that these would be analysed in order to determine whether there was any connection with the fire.

The fire brigade was called to the scene at around 3pm yesterday afternoon.

Responding with eight fire engines and the support of six vehicles from the forestry department, the fire was brought under full control at 6pm.