As part of the European Civil Protection Mechanism, France, as well as Greece, Italy and Spain, will send a total of eight devices to Portugal.
The city of Lisbon, which is suffering from a series of fires, has called on other EU members to fight the flames. Portugal, which already has around thirty water bombers and helicopters, has therefore “requested support from the European Civil Protection Mechanism” to obtain more air resources.
France will send two Canadians starting Tuesday, September 17, “to help our Portuguese friends in the framework of cooperation with the European Union,” outgoing Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin announced Monday.
on His accountEuropean Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced Monday afternoon that “eight aircraft will be mobilized to fight the fires.” She also thanked France, Greece, Italy and Spain for their “rapid response.”
Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro, who cancelled his commitments until Tuesday, said in a press release that he was following “the coordination of the fight against the fires” and that he remained “in contact with his European partners.” He also called on residents of the areas affected by the fires to “comply with the instructions of the security services.”
More than 2,300 firefighters were mobilized.
About 20 fires were burning on Monday, mobilizing more than 2,300 firefighters, while the National Civil Protection Agency put the country on “state of alert” between Saturday afternoon and Tuesday evening, because the risk of fires is considered “very high” or “maximum” depending on the region, due to expectations of high temperatures and strong winds.
The forest fires that have been raging since the end of last week have so far killed two people and injured several others, according to the latest report issued by the civil protection services. The National Civil Protection Authority told local media that one person was burned to death and another suffered a heart attack.
One of the victims was a 28-year-old Brazilian who worked for a forestry company. He was apparently caught in the fire while trying to recover tools, according to a press release from the Carabinieri, reported by Lusa.
In addition, a volunteer firefighter who was fighting a blaze on Sunday near Oliveira de Azemés, in the Aveiro region, died “suddenly” during a meal break, the Interior Ministry announced on Monday. A total of 12 firefighters were injured, two of them seriously.
