Cyprus gets help from Lebanon and other countries in battling huge wildfire

Aircraft from Lebanon, Jordan, Spain and Israel were on their way Thursday to help battle a huge wildfire in Cyprus that has claimed the lives of two people. Police were investigating reports that arsonists were to blame.

The flames have scorched more than 120 square kilometers (46 square miles) of forested hillsides in one of the worst such blazes in recent memory.

The fire, which appeared to have died down overnight, flared up again Thursday along several fronts. More than 250 firefighters, 75 engines and 14 aircraft were working to contain the flames, government spokesman Constantinos Letymbiotis said.

Very strong winds, high temperatures and very arid conditions after three winters of minimal rainfall created a perfect storm at the wildfire's peak late Wednesday, Letymbiotis said. Fire crews struggled to contain the flames in difficult, hilly terrain. Fire Service spokesman Andreas Kettis said the fire near the wine-making village of Omodos was particularly difficult to battle.

Letymbiotis pledged government assistance for people who lost their livelihood, and for property owners to rebuild their gutted homes.

Antonis Christou, a 67-year-old resident of the village of Kantou, described how the entire hillside and valley below his home was aflame.

"I cried, honestly I cried because the world was on fire," he said.

"Two fire engines came and if they hadn't come, the fire would have swept through the village," he said, describing scenes of "pandemonium" at a village dog shelter where owners rushed to evacuate the animals, as well as bumper-to-bumper traffic on roads leading away from the fire fronts.

Letymbiotis said that four Jordanian fixed-wing aircraft and two Egyptian helicopters are already on the island while two planes from Israel, a pair from Spain and two more from Lebanon would be arriving to assist in firefighting efforts "as soon as possible." Greece is also dispatching 26 elite firefighters to Cyprus.

Police were investigating reports that the fire, which began around noon Wednesday, was the work of arsonists, according to the government spokesman.

Egyptian Petroleum Minister Karim Badawi, who is visiting Cyprus, said that two "specialized helicopters" would be arriving in Cyprus later Thursday to demonstrate that his country is a "strategic, reliable partner" to Cyprus.

Police were still trying to identify the charred remains of two people who were found inside a burned-out car on the shoulder of the main Monagri-Alassa road. Police initially reported the discovery of one body late Wednesday, but a more thorough search of the gutted vehicle found a second body.

Health officials said seven people are being treated in three hospitals for burns and smoke inhalation.

Letymbiotis deflected criticism by some residents, saying that fire crews had responded quickly to calls for help and that all firefighting protocols had been activated from the first instance.

Meanwhile, the Cyprus Red Cross and other organizations offered help to dozens of people who lost homes. Justice Minister Marios Hartsiotis said that 100 people who were evacuated from fire-hit communities were being hosted in temporary shelters.

Cyprus' Interior Ministry urged the evacuation of all camping grounds on the Troodos mountain range as a precaution.

The fire on Wednesday had forced the evacuation of at least 14 villages as media reports showed gutted homes smoldering. In the village of Lofou, at least 20 homes were destroyed as fires threatened a group of stranded evacuees trying to flee.

Police continued to block road access to the fire-afflicted communities.