Forestry department reports illegal fires in Akamas and Koutrafas

Akamas, Cyprus. The forestry department reported separate illegal fire incidents involving picnickers lighting charcoal at Lara beach and stubble burning at an orchard in Koutrafas.

Lara beach incident

A group of young picnickers travelled to Lara beach in Akamas on Wednesday with a barbecue and lit charcoal.

Forestry department spokesman Glafkos Kyriacou told the Cyprus Mail that the fire was detected by the optical sensor system of the automatic fire detection system installed in Akamas.

The department alerted a patrol near Avakas gorge, which went to the site immediately. Forestry officers extinguished the fire and reported the picnickers.

Lara beach is within the Akamas national forest park, where lighting any type of fire is prohibited.

Koutrafas stubble burning

In a separate case, the forestry department dealt with stubble burning in an orchard in Koutrafas, near a forest.

The fire was extinguished immediately and procedures were launched to prosecute the man involved.

Increased patrols

Kyriacou said the past few days had otherwise been calm, with the incidents isolated. He said patrols had been significantly increased and were more frequent during the summer months, when the fire risk is higher.