Morocco sends two Canadair planes to battle wildfires in Portugal

Morocco has sent two Canadair airplanes to help combat wildfires in Portugal which has injured more than 17 people.

The Portuguese Ministry of Internal Administration said on Monday that it had activated a bilateral cooperation agreement on civil protection with Morocco after two rented planes in their water-bomber fleet broke down.

Portugal initially sought assistance from Spain, but was turned down because of Spain's own ongoing wildfires. Instead Morocco were swift to send two amphibious planes to help with the rescue efforts.

More than 650 firefighters, alongside 226 vehicles and six helicopters, have been working in Trancoso municipality in Northern Portugal. Another 400 firefighters were sent to tackle another blaze in the municipality of Covilhã, further South.

Multiple countries in the Mediterranean region have been battling intense wildfires this summer, including France, Greece, Albania, Syria and Turkey.

Over 400,000 hectares have burned in wildfires across the EU in 2025 so far according to the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS). That is more than double the area burned at the same time last year.

The dry climate in the Mediterranean has always made the area prone to wildfires, but experts say that climate change is exasperating the issue with more frequent and bigger fires.