The EU is putting teams of fire-fighters and a fleet of aircraft in place in anticipation of the forest fires that are likely to occur this summer. As a result, 650 firefighters from 14 European countries will be supporting local fire brigades at high-risk sites in France, Greece, Portugal and Spain during July and August, the European Commission said on Monday 26 May.
In addition, 22 fire-fighting aircraft and four helicopters will be stationed in ten Member States, ready to be deployed as part of the EU’s civil protection mechanism, should the need arise. 19 additional ground fire-fighting teams - each with around 30 fire-fighters - and an advisory and assessment team are also “ready to be mobilised by the EU”.
A “support team” will also be set up within the EU emergency response coordination centre. As it does every summer, the Copernicus satellite monitoring mechanism can be mobilised at the request of countries hit by fires. (Original version in French by Florent Servia)