This Wednesday, 140 Portuguese agents are traveling to Canada to help fight forest fires. The Joint Task Force includes elements of Civil protection, GNIfirefighters, INEM It’s from Institute for Nature and Forest Conservation (ICNF).
The agents are leaving Lisbon airport this Wednesday morning for the Quebec region, under the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism. The Spanish contingent is also on the move – made up of 97 operators.
According to the Civil Protection, this contingent includes “the cream of the crop”
“The preparation of these operators is daily and they are ready to intervene anywhere. It is a very capable force. We have the best of the best in this force and they will surely respond with all their might. »
Over the past few weeks, Canada has been rocked by hundreds of fires out of control. Thousands of people have been forced to leave their homes.
The Minister of the Interior predicts that this summer will be one of the most demanding ever recorded in the fight against fires in Portugal. During the farewell ceremony of the 140 Portuguese agents who will participate in the fight against forest fires in Canada, José Luís Carneiro assures that, this year, the country has more material and financial means.
“The weather forecast shows some of the most demanding temperatures we have experienced across Europe. And it is for this reason that Europe has doubled the air resources for the whole of the common European response mechanism”, specifies the Minister.
To predict”a more demanding summer than last year”, José Luís Carneiro points out that there is “more human means” in Portugal, “more material resources, more vehicles” It is “more financial resources”.
“From July 1 to September 31, this is the most critical phase of fire preparation. What we wanted on July 1 was to have at least the same means as we had last year, that is to say to have 60 air means, ”he adds.
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