EU prepares for 2024 fire season.

More than half a million hectares of the continent’s land burned last year, according to a report released by the European Commission’s Joint Research Center. The year 2023 was one of the worst in this regard in the current century. The next fire season is about to begin, so in light of the growing threat, the EU has begun preparatory measures to more effectively protect communities and the environment.

Fire protection in 2024. – fire season will not surprise us

To protect against fires in 2024. The EU has strategically deployed 556 firefighters from 12 countries in the most vulnerable regions, such as France, Greece, Portugal and Spain. They will remain on standby to support local services as needed. In addition, a special firefighting fleet of 28 firefighting aircraft and four helicopters stationed in 10 member states will watch over safety.

It has also allocated €600 million in EU funds for the purchase of additional firefighting aircraft. These funds will pay for the future purchase of new helicopters and another 12 aircraft, which will be distributed among the 6 EU member states.

In addition, the European Union is co-funding the maintenance of additional firefighting aircraft on standby in case its own resources prove insufficient in fighting fires.

Fire hazard

A fire in forests or other dense vegetation is an uncontrolled fire that consumes natural areas, and the threat of it increases under the influence of weather conditions. The risk of wildfires is increased especially by long periods of drought, but also by other factors such as rain and wind, the type of vegetation, terrain and forest management. With climate change, the threat of wildfires will increase, as we wrote about in a previous article in Water Matters: July 2023. month of fires and heat records. Increasingly, there may be large fires in which people will die, and it will take longer to restore the burnt areas to their original state. Between 2007 and 2023, more than 16 percent. of all requests for assistance from the EU Civil Protection Mechanism were for forest fires.

Forest fires have recently become a problem throughout Europe. In 2022. France, Spain and Portugal were particularly hard hit, but they also occurred in the Czech Republic, Germany, Greece and Slovenia, among others. In 2022. In 20 EU member states, fires consumed a larger area than the recorded average. The threat has extended far beyond the Mediterranean and into areas that have not previously been so exposed to fire. Fires represent great social, environmental, climate and economic damage across Europe.

EU Civil Protection Mechanism

The EU Civil Protection Mechanism serves to coordinate assistance at the European level and guarantees the timely receipt of information in emergency and crisis situations in all EU member states and countries belonging to the Mechanism. Deploying the system in any country in the world allows personnel and equipment to be quickly dispatched to the site in response to a specific situation.

The Center cooperates with national authorities in EU member states and participating countries. These activities are aimed at sharing information on prevention, preparedness and response work and initiatives. The center remains in constant contact with national authorities throughout the fire season.

In the event of an emergency, any country can request coordinated, rapid and effective international assistance through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism.

When large-scale fires occur, EU member states and countries participating in the mechanism show solidarity by sending assistance in the form of aircraft and helicopters, firefighting equipment and teams of firefighters.

The operational heart of the mechanism is the Emergency Response Coordination Center (ERCC) at the European Commission. The center tracks fire hazards and events across Europe with the support of national and European monitoring systems, such as the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS).

In 2023. The EU Civil Protection Mechanism has been activated 10 times in connection with forest fires in:

• Chile;
• Canada;
• Tunisia and Italy;
• Greece and Cyprus;
• Albania;
• Bolivia.

The Copernicus emergency management service (Copernicus EMS) regularly generates satellite maps to help national authorities respond to fires. In 2023. The program has been activated 25 times in connection with burning forests in various locations around the world.