The national commander of Emergency and Civil Protection, André Fernandes, told Lusa that these four Canadair are being made available under the European Civil Protection Mechanism, which was activated by Portugal on Sunday.

According to the national commander, the Italian planes arrive this afternoon, but the date of arrival of the French planes is not yet known.

The same official also said that the two Spanish heavy amphibious planes that were in the country to support firefighting under the European Civil Protection Mechanism left Portugal on Monday due to the fires that are also taking place in Spain.

André Fernandes also stated that the Canadair planes do not come to fight a specific fire, having activated the European Civil Protection Mechanism “from a preventive perspective”.

The country has been in a contingency situation since Monday due to the high risk of fire, which will continue until 11:59 pm on Friday, but which may be extended if necessary.