The Portuguese mission operated in Lebel-sur-Quévillion, in the province of Quebec, one of the most affected by the fires, in response to the request for international assistance made by the authorities.
The joint force made up of 140 operatives that Portugal sent to Canada to help fight forest fires in that country arrives in Lisbon this Thursday, 15 days after starting the mission.
In a statement, the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority (ANEPC) reports that the National Joint Operational Force (Focon) sent to Canada to support the fight against forest fires arrives in Canada. 10:15 p.m. this Thursday at the Figo Maduro military airfield in Lisbon.
Focon, made up of 140 members of ANEPC, the ANEPC Special Civil Protection Force, the GNR Emergency Protection and Relief Unit (UEPS), the Institute for the Conservation of Nature and Forests (ICNF), members of the fire brigades of the Center Region and the Madeira Autonomous Region, and the National Institute of Medical Emergencies (INEM), left Lisbon on June 14.
Force of 140 Portuguese operatives left to fight fires in Canada
The Portuguese mission, headed by the second regional commander of Emergency and Civil Protection of the North, Armando Silva, operated in Lebel-sur-Quévillion, in the province of Quebecone of the most affected by the fires.
Help from Portugal came from the international assistance request for the fight against forest fires that the Canadian authorities have carried out through the European Civil Protection Mechanism.
Canada has been battling wildfires since early May in an unprecedented fire season that has destroyed some 7.7 million hectares.
Canada evacuates people, gets outside support, blames weather disruption for fires
Source: Observadora
