Lithuania Deploys Firefighters to Fight Forest Fires in Southern France

The Lithuanian government approved a humanitarian assistance mission, sending a team of 32 firefighters and 40 officials from the State Fire and Rescue Service to southern France to help contain large forest fires. The deployment, arranged through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism and coordinated by the National Crisis Management Center, includes nine specialized vehicles – among them five fire trucks – and supplies such as communication equipment, personal protective gear and camping provisions. The team will travel by land, a journey expected to take about three days.

French authorities in the Zirond region have been battling the fires for over a week, prompting the evacuation of roughly 220,000 people, destroying more than 200 homes and burning about 42,000 hectares of forest. Lithuanian Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius and Interior Minister Martynas Katelynas highlighted Lithuania’s readiness to provide rapid assistance to partner nations in emergencies.