Fire in Paphos: Is the blaze still raging in the holiday hotspot Cyprus? Latest updates as strong winds fanned flames
A fire broke out on Wednesday (23 July) at a landfill in the Paphos district village of Ayia Marinouda in Cyprus.
The fire was contained shortly before midnight, fire brigade spokesman Andreas Kettis said on Thursday. In a post on social media, he confirmed that firefighters remained active in the area throughout the night to put the fire completely out and to ward off any potential flare ups.
Strong winds had fanned the flames and spread the fire beyond the landfill and into the nearby countryside. In total, Kettis said, nine fire engines, two firefighting vehicles from the forestry department, five earth movers, two water tankers from the Paphos district government, one mobile firefighting unit from the game service, one from the civil defence, and two civil defence firefighting helicopters were required to fight the fire.
Meanwhile, electricity authority (EAC) spokeswoman Christina Papadopoulou said that a total of 10 villages in the Paphos district had been left without electricity “for several hours” on Wednesday due to the fire. She added that pylons and transformers in the area had been damaged by the flames.
According to the Cyprus News Agency, some local residents had pointed the finger at other members of the public who “transport various useless objects, furniture, mattresses, and branches and burn them at Ayia Marinouda” as a potential cause of the fire. The causes of the fire are expected to be investigated at a later stage.