About 700,000 hectares of forests have burned in the European Union this year

This year, about 700,000 hectares of forests have already been burned in the European Union – almost twice the area of ​​Mallorca. The EU Commission announced yesterday that this is the highest value at this time of year since the joint data collection in 2006. “We are still far from finished” regarding the bushfire season, said a spokesperson for the Brussels Authority. So far, the EU’s civil protection mechanism has been activated nine times by five countries in response to the fire.

It is not clear on what data the commission relies. According to the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS), nearly 660,000 hectares have been burned as of August 13. However, this does not include small fires that burned about 30 hectares or less. The data, which also takes into account small fires, shows that about 715,000 hectares of forest have already been burned.

In the past two months, 29 aircraft and eight helicopters have been deployed across Europe via the European Union’s mechanism for responding to requests for assistance. They will be supported on the ground by 369 firefighters and more than 100 vehicles. The procedure allows a country to seek help when it is mired in an emergency. The EU Commission then coordinates the subsidies and covers most of the transport and the lion’s share of the costs.

In addition, about 150 firefighters from Bulgaria, Romania, Germany, France, Finland and Norway were sent to Greece in July and August. They should support local fire brigades, according to a statement from the European Union Commission.