What changed
2026-07-26 18:50 UTC → 2026-07-26 19:46 UTC ·
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Since 23 July 2026 a Croatia‑based Canadair CL‑415 operating under the The EU RescEU mission has been supporting French fire‑fighting efforts. After an initial stint around Salernes, kept its airborne assets active across the 855th Firefighting Squadron moved to fire‑affected zones of southwestern France and central Spain. After the Biscarrosse area Croatia‑based Canadair CL‑415 unit landed near Bordeaux on 24 July. In the first July and completed 72 sorties in two days days, the unit flew 72 sorties, logging about 13 ½ hours and dropping roughly 402 tonnes of water, as President Emmanuel Macron thanked Croatia operation expanded on X. The fires have burned an estimated 98 000 hectares, prompting the evacuation of around 250 000 people and bringing flames within 15 km of Bordeaux. On 26 July when Greece dispatched two Greece‑operated Canadair CL‑415 aircraft were dispatched water‑bombers to Spain under the EU Civil Protection Mechanism. From The Greek aircraft left the Torrejón they military air base near Madrid—after a brief weather‑induced stop at Aktio in Greece—and began water‑bombing over tackling the Burgohondo area in Ávila, where blaze, about 50 000 hectares have 115 km west of the capital. The fire, which has already burned. consumed roughly 50,000 ha, adds to Spain’s record‑season total loss of 153,000 ha burned since the start of the year stands at roughly 153 000 hectares, the largest season on record, with about 75 000 year. Around 75,000 residents have been evacuated from the Madrid‑Valencia corridor. The Greek planes, supported by a Hellenic Air Force C‑27J, are coordinated with RescEU, Spain’s ecology minister cited the incident as the country’s largest recent forest fire, underscoring a broader multinational response to the need for European solidarity in confronting extreme fire complex threatening both southwestern France and neighbouring Spain. conditions.