This summer, for the first time, Europe is not chasing forest fires, but will try to get ahead of it. The European Commission has achieved a record in the so-called pre-positioning program launched in 2022. In fact, it will preventively deploy 777 firefighters from 14 countries in the high-risk areas of Cyprus, Greece, Italy, France, Spain and Portugal, even before the fire season gets underway.
Alongside them, a fleet of 22 firefighting planes and 5 helicopters distributed between Croatia, France, Greece, Italy, Spain and other nations. Here is what the organization of the 2026 summer fleet will be and the contribution of each country:
24/7 monitoring, satellites and real-time forecasts
Behind every deployment there is a system that never sleeps. The EU Emergency Response Coordination Center operates continuously throughout the season, with forest fire experts from Member States and specialists from partner scientific institutions.
The European Forest Fire Information System continuously updates risk forecasts, while Copernicus satellites provide emergency maps and geospatial analysis directly to those working on the ground.
The new Cyprus station: a hub in the heart of the Mediterranean
The most significant news of 2026 is the opening of a European regional fire station in Cyprus: it is a permanent outpost where the fire risk is among the highest in Europe. The station will host six pre-positioning aircraft and will become a training and exchange center for civil protection operators from all over Europe and the Mediterranean basin.
The key word is prevention
There is also a more structural change in approach. The communication presented by the Commission in March 2026 puts in black and white what experts have been repeating for years: forest fires, which could become more devastating and frequent also due to the return of the El Niño climate phenomenon already this summer, cannot be fought only with canadairs. We need sustainable land management, ecosystem restoration, early warning systems and prepared communities. Putting out the flames is necessary. But it’s prevention that really makes the difference.
