A large fire is burning near the city of Limassol in the southern part of Cyprus and, despite efforts, it has not yet been brought under control, the Cypriot newspaper “Filelefteros“ reports in its online edition. According to information, residential buildings and cars have been burned, and the evacuation of people from the area continues, BTA reported.
The fire started in the village of Malia, which has already been evacuated. The temperature there is over 38 degrees, and a moderate southwest wind is blowing in the area, but its gusts reach eight degrees on the Beaufort scale, and the relative humidity of the air is below 20 percent.
The chairwoman of the Malia Municipal Council, Marilena Atini, announced that the evacuation of the neighboring village of Vasa is also being completed. According to the mayor of Vasa, Michalis Mosfilis, houses are burning in the village. The villages of Potami and Vouni are also being evacuated.
Due to the wind, which often changes direction, the fire continues to spread along two mountain ridges near the villages of Vasa and Vouni.
On state television, Cypriot Justice Minister Marios Haritsiotis said that the country would also ask for help from neighboring countries in extinguishing the huge fire. He called on residents of the affected area to cooperate with the authorities in the evacuation. The minister said that so far there have been no reports of injuries.
The police have urged residents of the villages of Omodos, Kilani, Vasa, Potami and Arsos to follow the instructions of the police, fire service and civil defence to facilitate the evacuation of the area.
Many fire service personnel, local authorities, civil defence and volunteers, as well as 8 aircraft, are operating in the fire zone. Air support is expected and from British military bases on the island. Reinforcements are arriving from Larnaca and Paphos.
There are road closures in the area due to the fire.