Europe's emergency response mechanism ‘not sufficient’ as uncontrolled fires rage in France and Spain
Wildfires in France and Spain are raging out of control on 122,000 hectares of forest land, and the EU’s emergency response services are unable to keep up with the spreading blazes.
The EU’s Civil Protection Mechanism, which includes 10 countries outside the bloc, is monitoring and coordinating a European response to help tackle wildfires in France, raging over 42,000 hectares and in Spain, with a record blaze covering 80,000 hectares.
The wildfires have triggered one of the biggest evacuation operations in Europe, now displacing more than 300,000 people in France and Spain and triggering a major EU deployment.
“These fires are faster than our capacity to try to put them out,” said a European Commission official.
