Europe’s firefighting aircraft set to relieve Gironde during wildfires

Bordeaux – 24 July 2026: For days, tension has hung in the air above the pine forests of Gironde. While emergency crews on the ground try to secure homes, roads and forest firebreaks, France requested European assistance overnight into Friday. The European Union Civil Protection Mechanism has been activated to reinforce French aerial resources in the fight against the fires.

According to sources close to the operation, two Croatian Canadair firefighting aircraft, two Portuguese Air Tractor aircraft and heavy Black Hawk helicopters from the Czech Republic and Slovakia are to be rapidly deployed to France. The aircraft are to be used where national capacities are particularly overstretched by several fires burning at the same time.

The situation in Nouvelle-Aquitaine is serious. According to a report by the AFP news agency circulated overnight into Friday, the fires in Gironde had affected around 4,800 hectares. In neighbouring Landes, vegetation was reportedly burning across about 1,000 hectares. In total, around 29,000 people had been moved to safety as a precaution. These figures are a snapshot; they may change as operations progress.

For residents of the affected communities, this above all means waiting: for instructions from authorities, for information about their homes and for word on whether they can return. Evacuations in wildfires of this kind are not merely a precaution. They give emergency services room to work and prevent people from being put at risk on narrow access roads.

The European mechanism is used when a country can no longer adequately mobilise its own resources in response to a disaster. The EU then coordinates offers of assistance from participating countries. For French operational command centres, this is not a replacement for local fire services, civil protection and security forces, but an additional aerial reserve – particularly important when fires have to be fought on several fronts at once.

France had already opened the 2026 wildfire season in early June with a reinforced national deployment. The Interior Ministry pointed to modernised resources, closer cooperation with municipalities and orders for additional firefighting aircraft. The current request, however, shows how quickly the strain can intensify when heat, dry vegetation and several fire outbreaks coincide.

Whether the European aircraft can join the operation as early as Friday depends on their deployment, weather conditions and decisions by operational command. One thing is certain: assistance from Croatia, Portugal, the Czech Republic and Slovakia is intended to buy time for forces in Gironde and beyond – time to slow the spread of the flames and protect people at risk.