To help combat the large-scale forest fires ravaging the Alexandroupolis region in Greece, the EU is mobilising and coordinating unprecedented resources through the Union Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM), including air assets from its rescEU strategic equipment reserve, firefighters, vehicles and satellite maps, said the European Commission on Tuesday 29 August.
More than 81,000 hectares have been burnt to date in the region, making it “the biggest wildfires ever recorded in the EU”, the institution pointed out.
In response to the second request for assistance, submitted by the Greek authorities on 20 August, 11 fire-fighting aircraft and a Blackhawk helicopter from the rescEU reserve, stationed in 6 Member States (the aircraft are from Croatia, Cyprus, France, Germany, Spain and Sweden, and the helicopter comes from the Czech Republic), have been deployed, along with 407 firefighters. 62 vehicles from Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, France, Romania, Serbia and Slovakia completed the package.
In addition, 20 satellite maps from the Copernicus programme have been provided to give precise information on the location and extent of the damage in the affected areas. This is the second operation in Greece, following the aid mobilised in July via the UCPM (see EUROPE 13228/7).
“The European Union’s largest aerial firefighting operation underscores our commitment to swift and effective collective action in times of crisis”, the European Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarčič, said in a statement.
His spokesperson, Balazs Ujvari, recalled that the RescEU fire-fighting fleet currently comprises 24 aircraft and 4 helicopters – a transitional reserve that mobilises existing capacities – and that the Commission’s objective is to gradually add 12 new aircraft, which will be purchased by the EU between now and 2030. “The first will be available in 2027”, he added. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)