Authorities said on Sunday evening that the wildfire in the Tsada area of Paphos is moving closer to being extinguished, though precautionary evacuations have been carried out.

For safety reasons, the civil defence carried out a partial and precautionary evacuation of 25 homes in Tsada, its spokesman Panayiotis Liasis said.

No evacuations were deemed necessary in the nearby village of Koili.

The spokesman added that 25 civil defence officers are assisting in the firefighting effort, with 23 deployed at the scene, one at the coordination centre, and one at Paphos police station.

Although some houses came under threat, damage was prevented and the situation is now “somewhat improved,” he noted.

Likewise, the head of the forestry department, Savvas Iezekiel, told CNA that “we are heading towards putting out the fire and we are on the right track,” noting that a large number of his department’s firefighting forces are assisting in the operation.

The blaze, he said, has been burning through shrubland and wild vegetation.

The blaze, which started at 3.24pm in a streambed beginning in Tremithousa and stretching between Tsada and Koili, spread within minutes due to dry vegetation and strong winds.

Police closed several roads, including the Polis Chrysochous–Paphos road at Stroumpi near Lemona and the main Mesogi–Tsada road, while officers were dispatched to manage traffic.

According to Tsada community leader Marios Ioannou, the fire advanced so quickly that “within five minutes it was approaching houses,”

Firefighters and civil defence crews had to evacuate one resident who initially refused to leave his home. “Thanks to the immediate response of the fire brigade, the worst was averted,” Ioannou told the Cyprus News Agency, noting that neither the man nor his property suffered damage.

The president of the Koili community council, Michalakis Efthymiou, said the fire reached the area between Tsada and Koili, with flames coming dangerously close to the church at Melissovouno.

“The swift intervention of ground and aerial forces prevented disaster,” he said, adding that while an evacuation of Koili was considered, it was not carried out after authorities ascertained that local homes were not under direct threat.

Fire service spokesman Andreas Kettis said that that throughout the afternoon local Paphos firefighting forces were heavily reinforced by units from Larnaca, Limassol as well as Nicosia.

The forestry department, civil defence, the game and fauna service and several volunteer groups also joined the effort.

Aircraft operating under the national ‘Icarus 2’ plan were deployed, while fire chief Nikos Longinos headed to the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre as the national wildfire plan ‘Pyrsos’ was activated, requiring immediate coordination among all competent bodies.

Kettis confirmed that during the fire’s advance, firefighting crews focused on shielding houses from the flames.

The blaze burned through dry grass and wild vegetation in a rugged area, making firefighting efforts particularly challenging.

The cause of the fire will be investigated once it has been fully extinguished.