After a Million Hectares Burned in 2025, EU Pre-Positions 777 Firefighters Across Southern Europe

The European Commission has launched its largest-ever pre-emptive wildfire deployment, stationing 777 firefighters from 14 member states across six Mediterranean countries. The operation comes a year after roughly one million hectares of EU land went up in flames — an area nearly half the size of Slovenia.

Specialised teams began arriving in Cyprus, Greece, Italy, France, Spain and Portugal this spring. They are meant to bolster national fire brigades during the peak danger months. The EU’s own aerial fleet backs them up: 22 water-bombing planes and five helicopters are standing by.

Spain is receiving the biggest contingent — 185 international firefighters. Forty Hungarians will arrive in Galicia in July, followed by 105 Polish experts in Castilla-La Mancha in August. A Dutch team of 40 will work in Catalonia from mid-July to mid-August. In return, Spain has contributed two Canadair fire-fighting aircraft and one helicopter to the European reserve pool.

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Cyprus Gets a Permanent Wildfire Base

A central piece of the 2026 strategy is a brand-new regional fire station on Cyprus. The hub can house six fire-fighting aircraft and also functions as a training centre. Cyprus itself is being reinforced with two light fire-fighting planes from the rescEU programme, operational from mid-June until the end of October. In the first half of September, 21 Greek firefighters will join them.

The expansion has a grim backdrop. Last year, Spain and Portugal together saw more than 400,000 hectares burn. Cyprus endured its worst wildfire season on record, with 14,000 hectares destroyed. Across the entire EU, the 2025 fire season surpassed a million hectares.

Satellites and Real-Time Coordination

The EU’s Emergency Response Coordination Centre (ERCC) runs the operation around the clock, drawing on satellite data for precise risk forecasts. The European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS) and the Copernicus service map burning areas in near real time.

Those systems proved their worth in early June. A wildfire near Murcia in the Los Garres regional park scorched 177 hectares and forced the evacuation of 100 people. Specialist ground units and water-bombing aircraft brought the blaze under control in a few days.

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National Drills and Long-Term Investment

Member states are also stepping up their own preparations. In Lower Saxony, for example, more than 50 emergency responders conducted a full-scale exercise in early June, using specialised tanker trucks to secure water supplies over long distances.

The EU is investing heavily in the future. Around €600 million is going toward twelve new fire-fighting planes and nine helicopters for the rescEU reserve, a long-term fleet modernisation programme.

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