European Union: eleven firefighting planes and a helicopter from the rescEU reserve deployed to tackle the wildfires in Greece

The Emergency Response Coordination Centre of the European Commission has mobilised eleven firefighting planes and a helicopter from the rescEU reserve, stationed in six EU countries, to respond to the wildfire emergency in Greece. This has been reported in a notice by the European Commission. “So far, over 81 thousand hectares have been burnt in Greece’s Alexandroupolis region”. It is the vastest wildfire reported in the EU since 2000 via the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS). Six EU countries have contributed with “six ground forest fire fighting teams through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism”. Since Greece activated the Mechanism, for the second time this summer, on 20th August, “the EU has deployed eleven firefighting planes from the RescEU reserve, stationed in Croatia, Cyprus, France, Germany, Spain and Sweden, 1 Blackhawk helicopter from the Czech Republic, 407 firefighters and 62 vehicles from Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, France, Romania, Serbia and Slovakia”. In addition, Copernicus, the EU satellite mapping service, has issued “20 maps of the affected areas”. Finally, last month, 9 airplanes, 510 firefighters and 117 vehicles were sent over. "We stand in solidarity with Greece as it battles the devastating wildfires. The European Union’s largest aerial firefighting operation underscores our commitment to a swift and effective collective action in times of crisis", the EU Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarčič, said.
Irene Giuntella