Spain has called in help from the European Union due to persistent forest fires. The government uses the EU mechanism for civil protection, which Member States have been able to use in force majeure since 2001. Two extinguishing aircraft stationed in France were called through that road. That reports the EU Thursday. It is the first time that Spain has started this medicine in combating forest fires.
Large-scale forest fires are raging in Spain, just like in many other southern European countries. On Thursday, Spanish media reported a third fatal victim as a result of the fires. It is a 37-year-old man who helped as a volunteer during extinguishing work near the western city of Zamora.
The forest fires in Spain rage mainly in the west and northwest of the country. Thousands of people have been evacuated, writes The Spanish newspaper El País. Train traffic has been stopped between Madrid and the northwestern region of Galicia. According to the Spanish weather service, the current heat wave in Spain, which started on 3 August, will continue until Monday.
This summer, four other countries already requested European aid through the civil protection mechanism: Greece, Bulgaria, Albania and Montenegro. In total, the mechanism came into force sixteen times this year, just as often as in the entire 2024. The EU climate service, Copernicus, sees more and more and larger forest fires as a result of climate change caused by humans.