EU sending wildfire help to Spain as death toll rises

The European Union sends two planes to help Spain to face raging forest fires, after the country has activated a mechanism of disaster aid in the European Union for the first time.

Interior Minister Fernando Grande Marlaska told the local media that he had requested the deployment of two water launchers from the European Union in the most affected areas.

This assistance comes when a third person was killed while fighting a fire in the northwestern Lyon area.

The AEMET AEMET Agency warned that the heat wave will continue until Monday, as temperatures exceed 44 degrees Celsius in some areas, raising fears that forest fires will spread more.

In an interview with Cadena Ser on Wednesday, Spain’s Interior Minister Fernando Grande Marlaska said he had requested two planes of the Canadair water bomber.

He said: “At the present time, we do not need two Canadair planes urgently, but given the weather forecast, we want to get these planes on our national lands as soon as possible so that they can be used, if necessary.”

“At this time, the government does not exclude the request of more firefighters.”

Thousands of people were evacuated from their homes in Spain, where 700, the last of the western city of Casseris on Wednesday, according to the country’s civil guards.

A civilian and firefighters were killed in Lyon on Wednesday. Two other people were killed in forest fires, one near Madrid and another in Lyon.

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Thursday: “We were again shocked by the death of a second volunteer who lost his life in Lyon. All our love and support go out to his family and friends during this unbearable time,” said Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Thursday.

“All government resources are working to address the difficult situation our country faces. The threat is still severe.”

Spain is among many European countries with burning temperatures and forest fires that have requested help from the European Union.

Greece, Bulgaria, Montenegro and Albania have also activated the Civil Protection Mechanism of the European Union, which allows any country to strike a disaster – in Europe and abroad – to seek emergency assistance.

European countries were sending planes to those that requested help, in addition to the firefighters who were distorting who already help in Greece.

In Greece, forest fires were burning for the third day in a row, with the most dangerous fronts on the island of Chews and in the Akia area of Biloponiz.

So far, 95 people – including firefighters – were injured. Satellite data from the Emergency Management Service in Copernicus in the European Union shows that more than 10,000 hectares (25,000 acres) have been burned throughout the country since Tuesday morning.

The authorities issued a red alert for Thursday, a warning of very high fire risks in Atka, east in central Greece, Evia, northeast, and presence.

In Chios, the fire front extended to dozens of kilometers, and with limited resources available, many residents should have been evacuated by sea using the Coast Guard and private ships.

Fires also broke out in Albania and Turkey, where many firefighters were injured while dealing with fire.

European Union data show that nearly 439,000 hectares of land have been burned since the beginning of the year due to forest fires, compared to 187,643 hectares (464,000 acres) last year.

A total of 1628 fires have been discovered since the beginning of the year.

Additional reports by Nikos Papanicolao in Greece