Greek Canadair water bombers combat Spain's Burgohondo forest fire
On 26 July, Greece dispatched two CL‑415 Canadair water‑bombing aircraft to Spain under the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM) and the rescEU programme. The aircraft left the Torrejón military air base near Madrid (after a weather‑induced stop in Aktio) and began fighting the blaze in the Burgohondo area, about 115 km west of the capital.
The fire has consumed roughly 50,000 hectares, contributing to about 153,000 hectares burned across Spain since the start of the year. Around 75,000 people have been evacuated from the Madrid‑Valencia region. Spain’s ecology minister called the incident the largest recent forest fire in the country, highlighting the need for European solidarity in responding to extreme fire conditions.
Entities: Burgohondo · Burgohondo fire · Canadair CL‑415 · Canadair CL‑415 water‑bomber · EU Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM) · Greece · Pedro Sánchez · Sara Achac · Spain
Claims
What the coverage asserts, and how well corroborated each claim is across sources.
- [● 7 SOURCES] The deployment is part of the EU Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM) and supported by rescEU. (multiple)
- [● 7 SOURCES] Approximately 50,000 hectares have been burned in the Burgohondo fire. (multiple)
- [● 7 SOURCES] The aircraft are operating over the Burgohondo area, about 115 km west of Madrid. (multiple)
- [● 7 SOURCES] Two Greek Canadair CL‑415 aircraft were deployed to Spain. (multiple)
- [● 7 SOURCES] Since the start of the year, about 153,000 hectares have been destroyed by fires in Spain. (multiple)
- [● 7 SOURCES] The aircraft took off from Torrejón air base near Madrid on the morning of 26 July. (multiple)
- [● 7 SOURCES] Around 75,000 people have been evacuated due to the fires near Madrid and Valencia. (multiple)
- [● 7 SOURCES] Greece dispatched the aircraft from Thessaloniki, making a stop in Aktio due to adverse weather. (multiple)