Wildfires

What is it?

Wildfires are uncontrolled fires that occur in nature or at the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) and are often exacerbated by climatic conditions. Long dry spells particularly increase the risk of wildfires breaking out. However, other factors also have a significant impact, such as rainfall, wind, type of vegetation, the layout of the terrain and forest management practices.

In 2025, the wildfire season has been well above average, with a cumulative burnt area in the European Union of more than 1 million hectares, according to the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS). It’s the highest value ever recorded inside the EU since 2006.

Facts and figures

In 2025:

In 2025, the EU put together aerial firefighting means at the disposal of wildfire-affected countries in case they needed assistance.

Why is this important?

Data from the Copernicus Climate Change Service show that in 2025 Europe had its warmest summer on record. The period from June to August 2025 was the warmest ever on a global scale, with temperatures 0.7 °C above the 1991-2020 average.

The Fennoscandian Peninsula experienced Europe’s most pronounced above-average air temperatures in July 2025, with heatwave conditions especially affecting Sweden and Finland, where there were 15 days of temperatures above 30°C. 

Southeast Europe also faced heatwaves and wildfire activity, and a national record temperature of 50.5°C occurred in Türkiye on 25 July, the first time a temperature above 50°C was observed in the country. 

Between 8 and 19 August, the estimated total burnt area in both Portugal and Spain was over 500,000 hectares, according to EFFIS, making it the countries’ highest value of burnt areas ever recorded in mid-August, comparable to almost twice the size of Luxembourg.

Cyprus, Germany, and Slovakia have also reached their highest value of burnt areas ever recorded in mid-August.

The fire risk is expected to further increase due to climate change. Europe’s wildfire season will increasingly be characterised by massive fires that claim lives and burn areas requiring longer recovery periods.

In addition, the wildfire risk has expanded to areas not previously exposed, moving well beyond the Mediterranean region to affect countries such as Czechia, Germany and Sweden.

This shift poses new challenges and results in significant societal, environmental, and economic losses across Europe.

How are we helping?

The EU Civil Protection Mechanism coordinates pan-European assistance, ensuring that all EU Member States and the 10 additional participating states receive timely information during crises. When activated by any country worldwide, the Mechanism facilitates the rapid deployment of resources and personnel tailored to the specific needs of each emergency.

At the operational core of the Mechanism is the European Commission's  Emergency Response Coordination Centre (ERCC). The Centre monitors wildfire risks and emergencies in Europe and across the globe, supported by national and European monitoring services such as the EFFIS.

At the onset of each wildfire season, the Centre engages with national authorities from EU Member States and participating states to:

• exchange information on prevention, preparedness, and response activities
• maintain close contact with these authorities throughout the wildfire season to ensure effective coordination

In case of emergency, any country can request assistance through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, enabling a coordinated, rapid, and effective international response. When major wildfires occur, Member States and participating states often demonstrate solidarity by providing:

• firefighting airplanes
• helicopters
• equipment
• specialised teams 

The Mechanism cofinances the transport and/or operational costs of delivering assistance to the affected areas.

Between 2007 and 2025, nearly 20% of all requests for assistance through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism were in response to wildfires.

In 2025, the EU Civil Protection Mechanism was activated 19 times to respond to wildfires. The EU's ERCC coordinated assistance for 11 countries.

In total: 

• 58 aerial firefighting means were mobilised: 38 airplanes and 20 helicopters
• more than 760 personnel were deployed, including pilots, mechanics, logistic experts, or firefighters

The Copernicus Emergency Management Service (Copernicus EMS) - on-demand mapping also produced multiple satellite maps to assist national authorities in responding to wildfires. In 2025, it was activated 36 times for wildfires in Europe.

Preparing for wildfires

While national and regional authorities manage wildfire prevention, preparedness and response activities, the EU can co-finance and coordinate additional support when needed.

Over the last few years, the EU has been constantly working to reinforce its joint rescEU firefighting fleet, ensuring better availability of firefighting planes and helicopters in the event of major and overlapping emergencies. The EU also cofinances the stand-by availability of extra aerial firefighting resources to address potential shortcomings in wildfire response.

Since 2022, the EU has also been strategically pre-positioning firefighters from across Europe in the continent’s south during summer months when the risk of wildfires increases. 

In addition to response efforts, the EU supports and complements the prevention and preparedness measures of countries and regions where a joint European approach proves more effective than separate national actions. These include conducting disaster risk assessments, encouraging research to promote disaster resilience, and reinforcing early warning tools.

Prevention, preparedness, and response actions complement each other to save lives and limit the further spread of fires. The presence of experienced wildfire experts, well-trained firefighters, advanced technology, and other assets near the emergency site can make a critical difference.

Preparedness measures in 2025

For the 2025 wildfire season, within rescEU, 

Cyprus, Czechia, Slovakia, Greece, Spain, France, Croatia, Italy, Portugal and Sweden 

put at the disposal of other EU Member States in case of an emergency: 

• 18 firefighting airplanes
• 4 helicopters

In addition, almost 680 firefighters from 14 European countries were strategically prepositioned in high-risk areas in 

France, Greece, Portugal, Spain, and Italy

 to rapidly help local fire brigades when fires broke out.

Furthermore, the European Civil Protection Pool counted 4 firefighting airplanes, bringing the total number of available firefighting airplanes to 22. On top of that, 19 certified ground firefighting teams, of minimum 30 firefighters each, and 1 forest firefighting advisory team, also included in the pool, were ready to intervene if needed.

Finally, a dedicated wildfire support and analysis cell was established at the EU’s Emergency Response Coordination Centre between June and September to ensure a rapid and efficient coordination and response. 

For the longer term, the European Commission has allocated significant financial resources to the acquisition of 12 new firefighting planes to be based in:

Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, Croatia and  Greece

5 helicopters to be based in:

Slovakia, Czechia and Romania

These aircraft will form the "permanent rescEU fleet". The first helicopters are expected to be delivered in 2026, with the first planes available during the 2028 wildfire season. 

_{Download the above image as pdf file.}

Operations in 2024

In 2024, the EU Civil Protection Mechanism was activated 16 times for wildfires in the following countries:
Cyprus, Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, North Macedonia, Portugal, Guatemala, Bolivia, and Ecuador.