Panagiotou: "Weaknesses from the Arakapas Fire Have Not Been Corrected"

The Minister of Agriculture, Maria Panagiotou, admitted that the weaknesses that arose from the Arakapas fire in 2021 have not been corrected, during a joint meeting of the Committees on Agriculture, Interior, and Environment to examine the deadly fire in mountainous Limassol.

"Despite the improvements made, we failed to respond to the fire at the desired level," said Mrs. Panagiotou.

According to the Minister, approximately 14,000 decares of land were burned. The Ministry of Agriculture is proceeding with flood protection projects.

Measures have been taken to strengthen forest firefighting, with 108 new forest firefighters being added from 2024. The Forest Department has 108 fire trucks, the largest fleet in its history.

Patrols have increased from 100 hours in 2021 to 650 hours in 2024 and will exceed 1000 hours in 2025. Aircraft have increased from seven in 2023 to 14 today.

Mrs. Panagiotou stated that the fire broke out in unprecedented weather conditions, with temperatures approaching 60 degrees Celsius.

"It was confirmed that although our forces find it difficult to respond to multiple incidents, they exceeded themselves, and therefore we must correct the weaknesses that are identified," the Minister concluded.