“Canada has asked for support from the EU’s civil protection mechanism, and we are responding quickly”, she announced.
“Canada has requested the support of the EU’s civil protection mechanism, and we are responding rapidly”, she announced.
The European Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarcic, also said on Twitter that “the EU Civil Protection Mechanism has been activated at Canada’s request to help fight the extreme forest fires”.
“France, Spain and Portugal have already made a significant number of firefighters available to help national and other nearby teams”, but the EU “is ready to provide further assistance”, Janez Lenarcic assured.
Nous sommes solidaires avec le Canada face aux terribles feux de forêt.
Canada has requested support from the EU Civil Protection Mechanism – and we are responding promptly.
🇫🇷🇵🇹🇪🇸 are offering the help of more than 280 firefighters.
More will come.
— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) June 8, 2023
On Wednesday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the arrival of “hundreds of American firefighters” to fight the forest fires in Canada, whose smoke has already reached the east coast of the United States.
On Tuesday, Canada was battling more than 400 active fires, most of them in the province of Quebec. The country has recorded 2,293 forest fires and some 3.8 million hectares burned this year, which is higher than the average for recent decades.
Quebec Premier François Legault announced on Monday that the province was awaiting the arrival of 200 firefighters specialized in fighting forest fires from France and the United States, and was in negotiations with other countries, such as Costa Rica and Chile, to send more personnel if necessary.
Upon 🇨🇦 request for assistance in combating extreme #wildfires, we have activated the #EUCivilProtectionMechanism.
🇨🇵, 🇪🇸 & 🇵🇹 have already offered substantial numbers of firefighters to come to help national and other close by responders. The 🇪🇺 stands ready to assist further. pic.twitter.com/Mago2Dk36u
— Janez Lenarčič (@JanezLenarcic) June 8, 2023
Mr. Legault advised the province’s residents to close their windows and avoid physical activity outdoors, especially those with respiratory problems.
For his part, Justin Trudeau pointed to climate change to explain the increase in the number of large fires, which “affect daily activities, lives and livelihoods, as well as air quality”.
“We will continue to work, at home and with our partners around the world, to fight climate change and its consequences,” promised Mr. Trudeau.
