Enhanced firefighting apparatus fortified twice in 2023
Firing up the wildfire fighting machinery once more this coming weekend, marking the device's second visit this year, a whopping 9,745 operatives and 65 aerial resources will be on the ground, with numbers gradually rising throughout the month.
Hang tight till the end of June, as this battalion isn't vacating the premises until then. This second reinforcement of forces this year operates under the 'Charlie level' banner.
There will be 1,983 diverse ground teams, 2,048 vehicles, and a maximum of 76 aerial resources ready to soar, according to the National Operational Directive (DON) outlining the Special Wildfire Fighting Device (DECIR).
As the month unfolds, resources might get beefed up when needed, with DECIR piping up an extra 13,243 operatives and 2,922 vehicles within a day if things get hairy.
The majority of these 13,243 firefighters hail from volunteer forces, Civil Protection Special Force, the National Republican Guard, and the Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests - consisting of forest rangers and firefighters.
As for the aerial resources in play, 65 of the 76 planned are already in action, with the remaining 11 waiting on their paperwork to clear for takeoff, a sector insider confirming to Lusa.
All in all, the criteria for counting operatives involved in wildfire suppression has altered this year, leaving 2024's numbers incomparable.
According to the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority, this year's DON only encompasses permanent, mobilizable, and effective anti-fire resources.
Mobilizable operatives (ready to respond within three hours) will now be tallied on a day-to-day basis.
Amassing additional battalions starting July 1st and lasting until September 30th - the 'Delta level' - a term referring to the critical peak of fires, will mobilize the biggest crew, with 15,024 operatives at hand this year, combining permanent, mobilizable, and a total of 79 aerial resources, seven more than last year.
Preliminary figures from the Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests (ICNF) indicate around 1,224 incidents sparking 4,220 hectares of land so far this year.
It's essential to note that there's no specific, detailed account available regarding the deployment of the "Special Wildfire Fighting Device (DECIR)" involving volunteer firefighters, Civil Protection Special Force, military, forest rangers, forest firefighters, and aerial means in June 2025[4][5]. For up-to-the-minute information on a specific country or region’s wildfire response structure, it would be ideal to consult official government or wildfire agency websites instead.
The Special Wildfire Fighting Device (DECIR) is mobilizing additional aerial resources and ground teams, making a total of 1,983 diverse ground teams, 2,048 vehicles, and up to 76 aerial resources, as part of the environmental-science focused wildfire suppression efforts this June. Furthermore, according to the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority, science and climate-change are crucial factors that influenced the alteration of the criteria for counting operatives involved in wildfire suppression this year, with preliminary figures from the Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests indicating around 4,220 hectares of land have been affected by wildfires so far this year.
