Lebanese Helicopters to Join Greek and Jordanian Aircraft to Help Cyprus Fight a Forest Fire 

Smoke billows from a fire in the Cypriot village of Paramytha, on August 6, 2023. (AFP)
Smoke billows from a fire in the Cypriot village of Paramytha, on August 6, 2023. (AFP)
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Lebanese Helicopters to Join Greek and Jordanian Aircraft to Help Cyprus Fight a Forest Fire 

Smoke billows from a fire in the Cypriot village of Paramytha, on August 6, 2023. (AFP)
Smoke billows from a fire in the Cypriot village of Paramytha, on August 6, 2023. (AFP)

Lebanon is sending two helicopters to join Greek and Jordanian aircraft in helping European Union member Cyprus fight a blaze that has scorched miles of mountainous terrain, an official said Monday.

Cyprus Foreign Ministry spokesman Theodoros Gotsis told The Associated Press that neighboring Lebanon is expected to send a pair of choppers as the wildfire continues to reignite on several fronts.

Two Greek Canadair aircraft have been dispatched to help douse the fire in the mountains about 11 miles (17 kilometers) north of the coastal town of Limassol. Jordan is sending three aircraft of its own, including two Super Puma helicopters and a Russian-made Mi26 helicopter. The multinational effort is battling a blaze that has scorched as much as 4 square miles (10 square kilometers) of land.

Environment Ministry Secretary Andreas Gregoriou, who is coordinating firefighting efforts, told state-run Cyprus News Agency that talks are ongoing with Israel for additional air support if needed.

Greece's Civil Protection Ministry said 20 tons of fire retardant is also on its way to Cyprus.

Fire Department spokesman Andreas Kettis posted on the platform known as X, formerly Twitter, that although the fire was brought under partial control early Monday, it rekindled along several areas, forcing air and ground crews to again mobilize.

The spokesman had earlier posted that ground crews were working to hem in the blaze by building firebreaks.

Officials expressed concerns that the fire could rekindle because of expected strong winds later in the day.

Interior Minister Constantinos Ioannou tweeted on X that he has given instructions for an initial estimate of the damage to private and state-owned property.

Officials said the residents of three villages have returned to their homes after being instructed to evacuate as a precaution.

Gregoriou, who surveyed the area by helicopter along with the country’s fire chief, told state broadcaster CyBC that “hundreds” of fire fighters, including volunteers, managed to contain the fire overnight because winds had died down considerably.

The fire started Friday, but authorities said a day later it had been contained. Gregoriou said the blaze apparently reignited on its own, dispelling suggestions that it could’ve been the work of arsonists.



Rancho Palos Verdes Declares War on Peacocks

A peacock (Getty)
A peacock (Getty)
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Rancho Palos Verdes Declares War on Peacocks

A peacock (Getty)
A peacock (Getty)

Spotting a trademark colorful and elegant bird on the Palos Verdes Peninsula can be exciting for visitors or vacationers, but as the peacock population has rocketed, officials say some of those birds have got to go.

The Los Angeles Times wrote Wednesday that this fall, Rancho Palos Verdes will restart a rarely used program to trap and relocate peafowl from the peninsula in an effort to curb the growing population and limit the animals’ nuisance behaviors with a goal of trimming the numbers by about 30%.

Although some residents are still enamored by the fowl - Rancho Palos Verdes resident Efran Conforty told KCAL News they are the “best neighbors” - the birds have also attracted a lot of haters.

City Council members said they received many letters in support of the trapping and removal program, some that even asked the city to expand it.

“They’re running across the road all the time - it’s dangerous,” said Council member George Lewis at a May meeting.

The council voted unanimously to reinstate the program in the three neighborhoods where officials recorded the highest number of birds.

“It is not the city’s intent to eradicate the peafowl population, but to manage the population at levels identified in 2000 and to educate the public on how to coexist with the birds,” Megan Barnes, a spokesperson for Rancho Palos Verdes, wrote in a statement.

In Rancho Palos Verdes, the peacock population is the highest it’s been since 2014, when city leaders first decided to look into taking action to curtail the number of the birds due to growing complaints about their noise and other nuisances.

Peacocks make a number of sounds, including a piercing and distinctive scream during mating season and when they perceive a threat.

They also clamber on rooftops and through landscaping, causing damage and leaving waste.