In 2023, 21.26 square kilometres of countryside were burnt and a total of pound 9.5 million worth of damage was caused by fires, Cyprus Fire Service said on Tuesday.
In total the Fire Service responded to 11,919 calls for assistance, involving calls for fires, special services and false calls.
According to data published on Tuesday by the Fire Service, in 2023 the burnt area of the countryside increased by 7.18 square kilometres compared to 2022, reaching 21.26 sq. km.
Regarding the cost of the damage inflicted by the fire, as recorded and estimated by the Fire Service, for 2023 there it reached pound 9,525,145 million, of which pound 8,444,580 related to urban fires and pound 1,080,565 related to rural fires.
The Fire Department responded to a total of 6,649 fires nationwide in 2023, an increase of 3.01% compared to 2022. Of these, 3,428 were rural fires and 3,221 were urban fires. The Fire Service reports that 63.89% or 2,130 out of 3,428 rural fires are due to unauthorized fire lighting, which falls un
der the category of “malicious act”.
The contribution of humans in causing fires in the countryside is as high as 90%, according to the data.
Moreover, urban fires show an increase of 7.15%. The number of fires that occurred in urban areas in 2023 is 3,221, compared to 3,006 fires that occurred in the year 2022.
Source: Cyprus News Agency