Kalo Chorio fire contained after six-hour battle over 20 hectares

Local firefire serviceTop News Kalo Chorio fire contained after six-hour battle over 20 hectares 0cf1927138e2704509039e2790d00fac Relevant News Kalo Chorio fire contained after six-hour battle over 20 hectares 27 July 2026 Fire brought fully under control, coordination centre says 27 July 2026 Israeli election billboard in Cyprus sparks backlash over foreign political campaign 27 July 2026 Natasa Christoforou 27 July 2026 FacebookXWhatsAppEmailPrintViber Firefighting forces extinguished a wildfire near the Kalo Chorio firing range by 6:40pm on Monday, six hours after it broke out, Department of Forests Director Savvas Iezekiel said. The blaze started at 12:40pm during National Guard live-fire training exercises at the range and burned through 20 hectares before crews contained it. A CY-Alert was sent to residents at 7:20pm confirming the fire was under control. The fire forced the evacuation of the villages of Agia Anna and Psevdas. philenews learned from the Coordination Centre in Agia Napa that crews were securing the fire fronts, which were no longer active. National Guard sources confirmed to philenews that a unit was carrying out training activity at the time, and that the fire broke out during the exercise, though its cause remains unknown. Agia Anna Agia Anna, a village of around 400 residents, saw the fire enter the exterior of at least one property, with crews working to put it out. As the fire took hold, Community President Anastasis Georgiou initially said it had already burned houses in the village. Once the situation became clearer, he said two to three houses had in fact narrowly escaped destruction, with help from volunteers, firefighters and forest rangers. Georgiou said community services, working with other agencies, relocated elderly residents unable to evacuate their homes to another community. Civil Defence confirmed that 21 people, four of them with mobility problems, were moved from Agia Anna to the Mosfiloti community council. The vast majority of residents in both Agia Anna and Psevdas did not leave their homes, largely because the fire was brought under control in time. A makeshift Fire Coordination Centre was set up in the Agia Anna area, with the central coordination centre based at the Zinonas Centre in Larnaca. Annita Demetriou, President of the House of Representatives, visited the coordination centre in Agia Anna, where she was briefed on the fire. A photograph reviewed by philenews showed that the cy-alert message warning residents of the fire arrived late after the blaze broke out. Psevdas Church bells rang in Psevdas just before 5pm, residents told philenews, in the manner used to call them to evacuate. Most residents remained in their homes, as the fire stayed some distance from the village centre, with some saying they intended to stay because they did not believe they were in danger. Crews were in the village moving people with mobility problems to safety. At the time, residents in the area voiced anger over reports that the fire had started at the Kalo Chorio firing range, questioning why training was taking place during a period of high fire risk. Psevdas residents, particularly those with homes near the mountains, remained on standby, with some joining the firefighting effort themselves on a pine-covered mountain while their families waited to evacuate them. Firefighting operation A volunteer firefighter was injured after falling from a height while tackling the fire, hurting his legs, and was taken to hospital by ambulance. Iezekiel said firefighting forces had surrounded the blaze, with strong winds carrying embers to different points in the area posing the main remaining difficulty. At least two active fire fronts were burning low vegetation, with the fire also close to wind turbines, complicating efforts to bring it under control. Crews were reinforced with four aircraft and six additional vehicles from the Department of Forests, while Larnaca Police officers were also deployed to the scene. Community services and residents also took part in the effort, using available means including agricultural machinery. Crews struggled to enter the firing range itself to reach the source of the fire, as the possible presence of unexploded ordnance and the particular conditions in the area made the operation extremely dangerous. Asked about the conditions that allowed the fire to spread, Iezekiel said it started at the Kalo Chorio firing range, and that firefighting forces could not approach for safety reasons due to explosions taking place at the time, allowing the fire to escape their control. Residents renew calls to relocate the range In the aftermath, residents in the Larnaca district communities affected by the fire expressed fury, again blaming the Kalo Chorio firing range for the blaze. They renewed calls for the range to be relocated, saying it causes repeated problems for the area and risks stripping it of its natural environment through recurring fires. Giorgos Iosif, whose house in Agia Anna was endangered by the fire, said residents had asked the Defence Minister and the National Guard to halt exercises during the summer months, but were not listened to. “You’re happy in your chair. Get up and come see the problems residents face,” he said. He added that in Cyprus, no one takes the responsibility that falls to them. Police and utility response The Electricity Authority of Cyprus (EAC) said its personnel were at the Agia Anna coordination centre from the outset, monitoring developments. EAC spokesperson Christina Papadopoulou said the Authority’s crews were also on full operational standby for any assistance required. Police said the road between Kalo Chorio and Psevdas was closed to all vehicles, and urged the public not to approach the area, both for their own safety and to allow firefighting forces unobstructed access. 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