“We are prepared for all types of forest firefighting,” Armando Silva, 2nd Regional Emergency and Civil Protection Commander for the Northern Regional Command, told reporters as the 140 officers who make up the National Joint Force that helps fight forest fires in Canada.

The Portuguese left the Figo Maduro military airfield in Lisbon today on a commercial flight that will also stop in Spain.

The Spanish contingent of 97 operators will travel with the Joint National Force (FOCON), in a plane that left Lisbon at 09:20, with some delay compared to the scheduled time.

Canada is affected by a wave of major forest fires, with 140 Portuguese operators who will intervene in the province of Quebec.

According to Armando Silva, the force will operate for a period of 15 days, “without prejudice to an analysis that prolongs or anticipates” the mission.

For the moment, the operational details have not yet been communicated by Canada, and a meeting is scheduled upon arrival in the province of Quebec, which will precisely determine the place and type of operations in which the 140 Portuguese will be deployed.

“We have valences and we have elements capable of working with hand tools and manual motorcycles, we have the capacity for helicopter combat. We take a team from the National Institute of Medical Emergencies to guarantee us support in terms of of medical services. We are ready for all types of combat. to forest fires”, under the command of Canada, underlined Armando Silva.

FOCON and the Spanish force will be present in the fight against fires in Canada as part of the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism.

The Portuguese force includes members of the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority (ANEPC), the ANEPC Special Civil Protection Force (FEPC), the Emergency Protection and Relief Unit (UEPS) of the GNR, the Institute for the Conservation of Nature and Forests ( ICNF), elements of the Fire Services of the Central Region and the Autonomous Region of Madeira and the National Institute of Medical Emergencies (INEM) .

Present at the time of boarding, the Minister of Interior Administration, José Luís Carneiro, recalled that approximately 400 fires are currently affecting three million hectares in various regions of Canada.

The Canadian territory is made up of ten provinces and the fires mainly affected Alberta, Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia and Quebec.

José Luís Carneiro recalled the recent missions of Portuguese forces in Turkey and Chile and described Canada as a country united to Portugal by historical, social and cultural ties, where more than half a million Portuguese and Portuguese descendants live.

“We are united to Canada by very important ties, historical ties, social ties, cultural ties that make us brothers in our way of apprehending and understanding the world and particularly in the way we live the value solidarity,” said José Luís Carneiro.