Rabat — Morocco is reportedly planning to send water-bombing aircraft to Spain to help fight devastating wildfires, according to a social media post from Germany’s embassy in Morocco.
The German diplomatic mission announced that 67 German firefighters, accompanied by 21 vehicles, would arrive in Spain today to assist Spanish authorities for the next two weeks.
The embassy added that German teams would work “side by side” on the Iberian Peninsula with Moroccan Canadair aircraft already deployed in Portugal.
On August 11, Morocco sent two Canadair water-bombing planes to Portugal after Lisbon activated a bilateral cooperation agreement.
Portugal requested help after two of its own aircraft broke down during firefighting operations, the Portuguese Interior Ministry announced.
The Moroccan aircraft joined Portugal’s firefighting efforts until the end of last week.
However, Interior Minister Maria Lucia Amaral announced Monday that the planes would stay mobilized until Wednesday due to worsening fire conditions.
Portugal initially asked Spain for help, but Spain could not provide assistance because fires had increased on Spanish territory.
The international cooperation signals how severe wildfires across the Iberian Peninsula have forced countries to share resources and personnel to combat the blazes.
Specialists attribute the worsening wildfire situation in the Iberian Peninsula to climate change, pointing to repeated heatwaves and droughts.
Morocco’s willingness to extend its firefighting support from Portugal to Spain demonstrates the regional nature of the crisis and the need for coordinated responses.
The North African country has also been on alert after days of battling a massive fire that destroyed large areas of forest in Dardara and Bab Taza, northern Morocco.
The fire consumed more than 500 hectares of forest and forced the deployment of over 450 personnel, supported by four Canadair planes and four Turbo Trash aircraft.
