Blaze in Paphos brought under control as crews stay on alert overnight

A huge wildfire that broke out on Sunday afternoon in the community of Steni, near Polis Chrysochous in Paphos district, has been brought under control, authorities confirmed.

Fire service spokesman Andreas Kettis said the blaze burned around 75 hectares of farmland crops, wild vegetation, dry grass and trees. The fire spread quickly into difficult and rough terrain, and strong winds made the firefighting effort harder.

Crews were forced to protect individual houses on two separate occasions as the flames approached residential areas. No injuries or damage to homes have been reported so far.

Firefighting forces will remain in the area through the night to extinguish any remaining hotspots and to prevent flare-ups. Investigators believe the fire started in an unharvested field and spread through crops.

Earlier, the “Ikaros II” emergency plan was activated. A total of eight aircraft were deployed to fight the fire from the air. On the ground, six fire engines from Steni and nearby Goudi villages responded first, tackling flames in dry grass, wild vegetation and farmland crops.

The fire service received extra help from the forestry department, which sent five fire trucks and two bulldozers. The district administration dispatched a water tanker and a bulldozer, while the Game and Fauna service and volunteer groups also joined the effort. civil defence contributed with a mobile operations unit.

Meanwhile, a team from the electricity authority of Cyprus (EAC) arrived at the scene to repair damage to power lines affected by the fire. EAC spokeswoman Christina Papadopoulou said the fire service requested a temporary shutdown of a high-voltage network for safety reasons.

The power cut affected several areas in the region. By around 7.20pm, electricity was restored everywhere except Steni, where crews continued working into the evening.

Officials are now assessing the full extent of the damage and are urging the public to avoid activities that could spark fires, especially during the current dry and windy conditions.