Rabat – Morocco has completed negotiations for the delivery of additional three Canadair amphibious planes for fighting wildfires, according to local media.
Currently Morocco possesses five Canadair CL-415 auxiliary aircraft, initially designed and developed by Canadair in the early 1990’s. The aircraft are capable of reaching a maximum cruising speed of 359 kilometers per hour. The Canadair are also capable of unloading 6,137 liters of water in a matter of seconds, with a refill speed of 12 seconds – from a lake, a river, or other large bodies of water.
Morocco is scheduled to receive three additional aircrafts, bringing its total number of aircrafts to eight. The same model was also offered as assistance to Algeria who have been battling with their own wildfires in the past weeks.
Morocco began the acquisition of the amphibious aircraft back in 2011,with sources close to Le360 indicating that five Candair currently held by Morocco were purchased for $162 million (MAD 1.5 billion).
The Moroccan Royal Air Force deployed several such aircraft to help control wildfires that began in Chefchaouen over the weekend.
The wildfires damaged around 200 hectares of forest, mostly made up of pine, cork oak, and various plants near the Northern Moroccan town of Chefchaouen. The Regional Director of Water, Forests, and Combating Desertification in the Chefchaouen province, Rahid El Anzi, pointed out the ongoing heat waves in the country would make it difficult to contain the fire.
The local official noted that having a proactive plan in place will ensure Morocco’s ability to mobilize at a national level in case a rapid fire response is needed. He added that places like Chefchaouen, which is “known for its vast forests with dense and diverse forest cover,” require a lot of vigilance to prevent the degradation of the region’s natural resources.
