June 21st, 2021 - The European firefighting fleet will consist of 11 firefighting planes, including two from Croatia, and six helicopters, for this year's wildfire season, the European Commission said on Monday.
The rescEU firefighting fleet will consist of two firefighting airplanes from Croatia, two from Greece, two from Italy, two from Spain, and six firefighting helicopters from Sweden. This comes in addition to one firefighting airplane from France and two from Sweden, which is part of the rescEU fleet on a long-term basis.
"Ahead of this year's forest fire season, we must do all that is necessary to reduce the impact of fires. Therefore, our proposed rescEU firefighting fleet will include 11 planes and 6 helicopters and can be readily deployed any time during this forest fire season," said Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarčič.
The season's risk for forest fires is forecasted to be above average, with temperatures expected to be higher-than-average from June to September in the Mediterranean region, the Commission said. The season might also see less rainfall, especially in central Europe and many areas of the Mediterranean, it added.
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