EU sending assistance for Spain wildfires
Aug. 14 (UPI) -- The European Union sent two planes to assist Spain in taking care of wildfires, after Spain activated the EU Civil Protection Mechanism for the first time ever for forest fires.
The commission mobilized two rescEU planes on Thursday.
Three people have been reported killed by the current wildfires in the city of Leon and one near Madrid.
"We are struck once again by the death of a second volunteer who has lost their life in Leon. All our love and support go out to their family and friends during this unbearable time," Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on social media on Thursday.
Spain's weather agency AEMET warned that a heat wave exceeding 111 degrees Fahrenheit will continue until Monday.
Spain's Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska had requested two Canadiar bomber aircraft to help.
"At the moment we don't need the two Canadair planes urgently but given the weather forecast, we want to have those planes in our national territory as soon as possible so they can be used, should they be necessary," he said.
"At this time, the government does not rule out requesting more firefighters," he added.
Alongside Spain, Greece, Bulgaria, Montenegro and Albania have all requested help to deal with forest fires.
The EU Civil Protection Mechanism has been activated 16 times throughout this current fire season; the number of activations for 2025 is already equivalent to the total activations for 2024's wildfires during the whole fire season.
Roughly 1,084,792 acres of land have been burnt since the start of the year due to wildfires and 1628 fires have been detected since the beginning of 2025.
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