Avincis boosts its European fleet with five 214ST helicopters

Europe’s largest aerial firefighting operator Avincis will get five of the newly modified 214ST helicopters from Australia’s McDermott Aviation.

At the tail end of a demanding European wildfire season, Avincis has signed a Letter of Intention for five of the McDermott 214ST medium-lift twin-turbine helicopters, scheduled for a 2028 delivery.

The 214ST offers up to 3,000 kg of useful load, a maximum external hook load of 3,582 kg, endurance of up to 4.1 hours and a cruise speed of 120 knots. Its twin CT7-2A engines and large cabin make it suited to water-dropping, the transport of crews and equipment, external-load operations and missions from remote or confined locations.

McDermott Aviation owns the Type Certificates for both the Bell 214B and 214ST series and is preparing to commence production of its modified Utility 214ST model, buildings on more than four decades of operational, engineering and maintenance experience with the 214 series.

John Boag, Group CEO of Avincis, said investing in versatile medium-lift aircraft was essential.

“These five aircraft give Avincis another powerful option within our integrated fleet. The 214ST’s lift, endurance and hot-and-high performance will strengthen our rotary-wing response, while its utility capability will allow us to deploy the aircraft across a wider range of critical missions throughout the year.”

By the end of July this year, Avincis says it had completed more than 12,600 firefighting flight hours and nearly 5,400 missions across Spain, Portugal and Italy – almost 90% more flight hours than at the same point in 2025 – while dropping more than 225 million litres of water.

The aircraft will be deployed across Avincis’ operations to support wildfire and utility operations, with their allocation determined by operational requirements and seasonal wildfire demand across the Group’s operating regions.

The latest acquisition by Avincis follows on from several recent announcements to increase its fleet including the June 2026 order for 15 Airbus five-bladed H145s and 15 Leonardo aircraft, 5 AW139s and 10 AW169s, and the July leasing of two Super Scoopers.

Avincis operates from more than 180 bases across Chile, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Italy, Mozambique, Norway, Portugal, Spain and Sweden, and the company oversees operations from its headquarters in Lisbon, Portugal. With a fleet of around 210 aircraft (helicopters ~170 and aeroplanes ~40), Avincis has a team of more than 2,400 including pilots, crews, technicians and support.

Avincis is a vocal proponent for the need to expand European wildfire response capacity. At the Aerial Fire Fighting Series: Global Conference and Exhibition,’ in Rome, Italy, this year, it released a report that concluded: “Europe is dangerously unprepared to tackle a surge in wildfires across the continent and must act urgently and cohesively to expand aerial firefighting capabilities and investment levels.”

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Production to restart for the 214ST helicopter

Support grows for 2026 UK wildfire conference

The full program for the 2026 UK Wildfire Conference is now available with two days of speakers, workshops, exhibitors and a site visit to an area hit by recent wildfires.

This biennial conference at Headingly Stadium in Leeds on 10 and 11 November will bring together stakeholders from the wildfire sector throughout the UK and beyond. It follows quickly on the from the 10th International Conference on Forest Fire Research and International Wildland Fire Safety Summit in Coimbra, Portugal, 31 October to 6 November 2026.

Five keynote speakers from the UK, Spain and the USA will talk about the emerging challenges associated with wildfire exposure of industrial infrastructure, lessons from the Fylingdales Moor wildfire and community-level wildfire preparedness.

The pre-conference site visit has been organised for 9 November at nearby Marsden Moor, which is owned by the National Trust.

One of the UK’s largest energy distributors is also supporting for the conference as a headline sponsor, the organisers have just announced.

Northern Powergrid, which distributes electricity to around 8 million people across the Northeast of England and Yorkshire, has signed up to support the international conference.

The conference, which is being hosted by the England and Wales Wildfire Forum, has received support from the UK Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government, highlighting the growing importance of wildfire as a major resilience issue across the UK, especially in light of the devastating wildfires this summer.

Wildfire2026 will bring together experts, practitioners, policymakers, researchers, land managers, and more to share learning, discuss emerging challenges and strengthen collaboration across sectors. The conference theme, “New Perspectives, Shared Solutions”, reflects the need for coordinated action and cross-sector working in response to the changing wildfire risk.

The International Association of Wildland Fire is sponsor of Wildfire2026.

Wildfire Today is a Media Partner of Wildfire2026.

For more information or to register visit:
https://ukwildfireconference.co.uk

Europe’s fire summer still a concern

After a brief respite for parts of Europe, extreme and very extreme wildfire conditions are forecast across most of southern, central and eastern Europe. The main areas of wildfire risk are in Spanish Iberia, France, the Alps, northern Italy, western Balkans, Greece, Turkey and Ukraine.

Other areas recently hit hard by wildfires in recent weeks are now at a low fire danger, including the British Isles, Baltic states, Poland and most of Scandinavia. Above average rainfall is expected to continue across most of these areas, with barely a drop forecasted elsewhere.

A new visualisation from Copernicus EU shows the extent of fire across Europe and North Africa during the peak summer period of July and August. There were large fires across Spain and Portugal, southern France, Italy, Greece, the Balkans, Ukraine and Algeria.

This visualisation uses data from the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS), part of the Copernicus Emergency Management Service, and shows fires larger than 30 hectares between 1 July and 31 August 2026. This only shows total area burnt, and not other impacts.

Across the area shown, more than 1.2 million hectares have been identified as affected. The circles highlight larger burnt areas, including those associated with 19 fires, each exceeding 10,000 ha. Smaller burnt areas are shown as orange polygons.

2026 has been a big year for fire across Europe with 647,375 hectares burnt. But just not as big as the record breaking 2025, which had 994,419 hectares burnt over the same period. The number of fires is slightly less too – 1913 this year, 1986 at the same time last year.

It is not clear from the data why this chart shows 647,375 hectares burnt since the start of the year, but the above chart shows 1.2 million hectares “identified as affected” in just two months.

The European Unition last week increased its support to fight wildfires in Serbia – 4 helicopters from the RescEU fleet based in Czechia, Romania and Slovakia, were mobilised, alongside ground firefighting teams from Germany and Romania.

Europe wildfires continue to burn at near record-breaking pace

The consequences of Europe’s dry summer continue to emerge as “exceptional” wildfire activity draws on the union’s combined resources.

In another week of high temperatures and little prospect of rain, extreme conditions continue over southern United Kingdom and have expanded over northwestern France, extending through the Alps and into the Balkans.

An estimated 542,926 hectares (1,341,599 acres) have burned throughout the region since the beginning of 2026, according to the European Union’s “Current Wildfire Situation in Europe” report on Aug. 10. This year’s burned area total is just below the record-breaking fire year of 2025, when wildfires burned 631,119 hectares (1,559,529 acres) by the same date even though the 2026’s burned area total briefly eclipsed 2025’s numbers between July 22 and Aug. 9.

Last year – 2025 – was the worst year on record in Europe, and while 2026 is tracking slightly less it still well exceeds the long-term average of the last 20 years (see the blue line on graph below).

Credit: EU Civil Protection & Humanitarian Aid

A recent research report released by the EU’s Climate Change Service determined that chronically dry conditions across western and central Europe were conducive to the exceptional wildfire activity, fueled by abundant dried biomass after a wet winter and early spring.

“In France, fires in the Gironde region burned nearly 42,000 ha, the largest area on record for France in the European Forest Fire Information System of the Copernicus Emergency Management Service,” researchers said in the report. “Spain also saw multiple fires, especially in central and eastern regions.”

Daily wildfire emissions were at record levels in France for July 24, according to the report. The nation’s annual total was already the highest ever by the end of July, while Spain ranked its second-highest emissions total ever, behind 2022.

The EU has assembled and deployed an estimated 777 firefighters from 14 countries to support communities where the wildfires are burning. They’re primarily stationed in France, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain and Cyprus and stand ready to support brigades if fires overwhelm local resources.”

Credit: EU Civil Protection & Humanitarian Aid

Synchronised fires test new Europe wildfire response

The coordination of Europe’s firefighting forces under new-look civil protection measures are getting an early season test as Central Europe faces a forecast of more heat and little prospect of rain.

With extreme fire weather affecting several countries simultaneously, scientists are looking more closely at “fire-weather synchronicity” as multiple countries call on aircraft and personnel at once. Says one scientist: “The fires are separate. The weather connecting them is not.”

The EU has deployed assistance to both France and Spain under the EU civil protection mechanism as ongoing wildfires have triggered one of the biggest evacuation operations in Europe, displacing more than 300,000 people so far in both countries with that number growing by the day.

Three firefighters have died in the wildfires with many more injured. The total number of deaths remains unclear as many are also heat-related and many people are still unaccounted for as large numbers of people – both residents and tourists – are on the move.

Other parts of Europe also impacted, including the United Kingdom, with fires in the Cairngorms in Scotland and in the south-east of England.

Prince William wrote in a post on X: “Our thoughts are with everyone affected by the devastating wildfires across France, Spain and the UK. We are deeply grateful to the firefighters, emergency services and volunteers working tirelessly in extraordinarily difficult conditions. These events are a stark reminder of the challenges posed by an increasingly extreme climate and the importance of protecting both people and nature.”

Spain and France are hardest hit in July 2026 wildfires, but the UK and Italy are also battling many fires. Source: Copernicus EFFIS

The EU has long coordinated shared resources, but following the extreme fire year of 2025 it ramped up its preparedness to a higher level for 2026. So far this month:

France has received:
7 firefighting planes and 4 helicopters from Czechia, Croatia, Germany, Portugal, Slovakia, Sweden and Türkiye. Most of these aircraft are part of the rescEU firefighting fleet.

Spain has received:
6 firefighting planes from Greece, Italy and Türkiye, as well as 134 emergency personnel and 41 vehicles from Portugal.

The EU’s Copernicus satellite service is providing emergency maps to support operations on the ground, while the Emergency Response Coordination Centre remains in constant contact with national authorities.

The 2026 fires were not so unexpected – many had predicted another severe season straight after the historically bad 2025 – several European firefighting teams were pre-positioned in France and Spain as support for local teams, enabling a rapid response when the fires broke out.

The UN Commissioner for Preparedness and Crisis Management, Hadja Lahbib, said the case for a pan-European firefighting force was clear:

‘Right now, hundreds of thousands of people have been forced to flee their homes, while firefighters battle walls of flame in dramatic conditions to save lives and communities. No country should ever have to face a disaster of this scale alone. That is exactly why Europe built a common response capacity: aircraft in the sky, firefighters on the ground, and more support standing ready the moment it is needed. To the people of France and Spain: Europe will stand with you until the fires are out.‘

Fire weather synchronicity and other observations

The current fires have generated much discussion, with the notion of “fire-weather synchronicity” helping us better understand why all the fires seem to be happening at once and what this means for sharing resources.

Several research papers have been published including Synchronized wildfires will strain global fire resources: report

Francesca Di Giuseppe, from theEuropean Centre for Medium-range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), Reading, United Kingdom, co-authored “Large increase in extreme fire weather synchronicity over Europe”.

In a post, Di Giuseppe says that synchronicity turns separate regional fires into a shared European emergency. Extreme fire-weather synchronicity has already increased across Europe and is projected to rise further as the climate warms.

“Climate change does not provide the ignition, but it is shifting the background conditions towards hotter, drier and longer fire seasons – and increasing the likelihood that dangerous conditions develop across large areas at the same time. The fires are separate. The weather connecting them is not.”

Many observers are noting the extreme nature of some of the fire activity, with a rare – for Central Europe – and possibly the first occurrence of a pyrocumulonimbus event in Bordeaux, France.

For a good summary of the fires see the BBC.

For a good photo spread see CNN.

European Civil Protection 2026 Photo: Portuguese National Authority for Emergency and Civil Protection (ANEPC), 2026

Nearly 200,000 evacuated from ‘impossible to extinguish’ wildfires in France and Spain as Europe nears record-high wildfire totals

Emergency crews across France and Spain are fighting unprecedented wildfires that have forced the evacuation of thousands across the countries.

France’s Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez reported Friday that over 110,000 people in the Department of Gironde have been evacuated, with Nuñez telling French broadcaster TF1 that the country has never seen a “convective fire of this magnitude.”

An estimated 60,000 people were also recently evacuated in Spain due to multiple fires burning outside Madrid. Minister of Environment, Agriculture and Interior of the Community of Madrid, Carlos Novillo, said the fires are “beyond extinguishing capacity” with authorities upgrading the fires’ danger level to 3, marking a “national emergency.”

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Evacuations in Spain as wildfire triggers regional emergency

The relatively normal wildfire season that Europe had been experiencing has gone up in flames over the past few weeks. Burned area across the European Union had been trending just above the 20-year average for most of the year, until the numbers exploded to near record-breaking highs during the week of July 8. Since then, over 254,000 hectares (627,000 acres) have burned, just 16,000 hectares short of 2025’s total during the same week.

“Although this wildfire season has, up to this date, slightly less burned area than in 2025 (the worst year on record), it is still above the average of the last 20 years (2006-2025),” the European Forest Fires Information System said.

Credit: Copernicus Programme of the European Union

Europe’s land is forecast to keep burning as very extreme fire weather conditions dominate numerous regions, including vast swaths of land from southwestern France into northern Spain, along with some pockets across Portugal, the British Isles and Ireland, according to the EFFIS.

Other areas are experiencing extreme fire weather conditions, including the wider Iberian Peninsula, western and central France, and northern Finland, along with parts of the western Balkans.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the Mediterranean, a heatwave across northern Africa has led to severe fires in Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco.

Europe preps for a wild wildfire summer

Romanian and French firefighters posing for a group photo in front of their fire trucks Romanian firefighters that have been strategically pre-positioned in the south of France, in Perpignan, within a wider wildfire preparedness initiative coordinated via the EU Civil Protection Mechanism. Photo European Union

Europe has boosted its wildfire preparations ahead of a forecasted busy 2026 season by deploying its largest force yet of firefighters, aircraft and other experts across the continent.

The announcement comes as the World Meteorological Organisation issued a Global Seasonal Climate Update that, while highlighting the development of a strong El Nino around the Pacific, also warns of hot, dry conditions elsewhere.

“For the June-July-August season, forecasts project a nearly universal dominance of above-normal temperatures in nearly all parts of the globe,” the WMO says.

The late May “heat dome” over Western Europe has eased this week but the early seasonal heatwave may be the first taste of a long, hot summer.  

The European Commission announcement follows a record 2025 season where 1 million hectares across Europe were burned. Its 2026 pre-positioning program includes:

  • 777 firefighters from 14 countries to be deployed across high-risk areas in 6 countries in the south of Europe
  • 22 firefighting airplanes and 5 helicopters from the EU fleet to support countries under pressure
  • 21 certified teams ready to intervene all over Europe 
The Emergency Response Coordination Centre (ERCC) in Brussels is the heart of the EU Civil Protection Mechanism. It coordinates the delivery of assistance to disaster-stricken countries, such as relief items, expertise, civil protection teams and specialised equipment. Photo: European Union
The Emergency Response Coordination Centre (ERCC) in Brussels is the heart of the EU Civil Protection Mechanism.

As the season progresses, the placement of these resources will be based on daily wildfire risk forecasts from the European Forest Fire Information System and the EU satellite Copernicus.

In addition, the EU is launching a new European regional firefighting station in Cyprus this year to strengthen wildfire preparedness and response capacities across Europe and the South Mediterranean region. The station will have the capacity to pre-position 6 aircraft and host trainings for civil protection practitioners.

The announcement is consistent with the March release of the new comprehensive EU strategy on wildfire management.

An overview of the 2026 summer fleet supported by the EU Civil Protection Mechanism:

  • Croatia: Two medium amphibious airplanes.
  • Cyprus: Two light airplanes (in addition to four light airplanes funded by other EU instruments).
  • Czechia: Two helicopters.
  • France: Four medium amphibious airplanes and one helicopter.
  • Greece: Four medium amphibious airplanes.
  • Italy: Two medium amphibious airplanes.
  • North Macedonia: Two light airplanes.
  • Portugal: Two light airplanes.
  • Romania: One helicopter.
  • Slovakia: One helicopter.
  • Spain: Two medium amphibious airplanes.
  • Sweden: Two light airplanes.
EU wildfires preparedness measures for 2026. Prepositioned ground forest fighting teams.
EU wildfires preparedness measures for 2026. Prepositioned ground forest fighting teams.
EU wildfires preparedness measures for 2026.
EU wildfires preparedness measures for 2026.

IAWF at Wildfire Camp in Germany

IAWF at Interschutz 2026, Hanover Germany

We are at Interschutz 2026 in Hanover, Germany all this week: 1-6 June 2026.

IAWF Vice President Ciaran Nugent is hosting a small display outdoors in the Wildfire Camp with a small group of colleagues.

IAWF at Interschutz 2026, Hanover Germany
IAWF at Interschutz 2026, Hanover Germany

For the first time in its 70-year history the large Interschutz fire and rescue services trade fair in Germany features a zone dedicated to wildfire and it is great for the IAWF to be a part of it.

Wildfire Camp will display around 20 companies and other organizations on early detection, prevention and suppression of wildfires. While small in relation to the rest of the trade fair, the arrival of Wildfire Camp signals a growing acceptance of wildland fire as an essential part of overall fire management planning and resourcing in Europe.

The Interschutz fire and rescue services trade fair is huge – around 1750 exhibitors from 55 countries are in Hannover from 1-6 June 2026. The exhibition space fill nine halls plus outdoor displays and in the past has attracted up to 150,000 visitors.

Wildfire Camp is the work of four main players – Bosch Building Technologies, the European Forest Institute (EFI), @fire, and IMBOS e.V, bringing together science, emergency responders, and technology providers.

The International Association of Wildland Fire is hosting a stand in the Wildfire Camp that will also include CAL FIRE, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, Airbus, Drager, Husqvarna, OroraTech, Vallfirest, Waterax and others.

Reflecting the desire to not just promote hardware and other services, the Wildfire Camp has a strong emphasis on understanding wildfire in a European context and learning from international experts. In addition to the outdoor demos there is a program of expert presentations and panel discussions into operational strategies, early detection technologies, prevention measures by the European Forest Institute.

See more information about the WildfireCamp@INTERSCHUTZ, including all participating companies,

Visit the International Association of Wildland Fire at Interschutz 2026 in the Open-air section of the Wildfire Camp, stand D90 (29).

Wildfire camp sets up in Germany

For the first time in its 70-year history the large Interschutz fire and rescue services trade fair in Germany will feature a zone dedicated to wildfire.  

Wildfire Camp will display around 20 companies and other organizations on early detection, prevention and suppression of wildfires. While small in relation to the rest of the trade fair, the arrival of Wildfire Camp signals a growing acceptance of wildland fire as an essential part of overall fire management planning and resourcing in Europe.

The Interschutz fire and rescue services trade fair is huge – around 1750 exhibitors from 55 countries will be in Hannover from 1-6 June 2026. The exhibition space fill nine halls plus outdoor displays and in the past has attracted up to 150,000 visitors.

Interschutz. Photo: Rainer Jensen

Wildfire Camp is the work of four main players – Bosch Building Technologies, the European Forest Institute (EFI), @fire, and IMBOS e.V, bringing together science, emergency responders, and technology providers.

The International Association of Wildland Fire will host a stand in the Wildfire Camp that will also include CAL FIRE, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, Airbus, Drager, Husqvarna, OroraTech, Vallfirest, Waterax and others.

“Driven by climate change, which is one of our key focus topics, we decided to launch this premiere,” says Thilo Horstmann, Head of INTERSCHUTZ at Deutsche Messe AG. “The camp is far more than a simple product showcase. It has been designed by recognized experts.”

The demonstrations area is divided into pre-and post-fire management, vehicle-based firefighting, aerial support, ground crews, and special operational options.

Reflecting the desire to not just promote hardware and other services, the Wildfire Camp has a strong emphasis on understanding wildfire in a European context and learning from international experts. In addition to the outdoor demos there is a program of expert presentations and panel discussions into operational strategies, early detection technologies, prevention measures by the European Forest Institute.

See more information about the WildfireCamp@INTERSCHUTZ, including all participating companies,

Visit the International Association of Wildland Fire at Interschutz 2026 in the Open-air section of the Wildfire Camp, stand D90 (29).

Aerial resources shifting north as industry calls for more investment in aircraft across Europe

As Europe and North America get an early taste of wildfire season 2026, the annual south to north migration of aerial firefighting resources is well underway amid European industry calls for more investment in aircraft.

Australia’s McDermott Aviation has started to shift its aerial firefighting fleet to Greece, marking the company’s seventh consecutive year supporting Greek authorities.

A total of 15 helicopters – including 11 Bell 214ST “Super Transporter” aircraft and four Bell 214B “Big Lifter” helitaks – are being mobilised from Australia and the United States, with operations running through to the end of October 2026. At that point, the migration resumes, but in the other direction.

(Photo Credit - Matt Cotter)
Preparing to depart to Greece for wildfire season 2026, McDermott Aviation. (Photo Credit – Matt Cotter)
Preparing to depart to Greece for wildfire season 2026, McDermott Aviation.
Preparing to depart to Greece for wildfire season 2026, McDermott Aviation.

At peak deployment, 14 aircraft will be on contract at any one time, supported by approximately 100 specialist personnel rotating through Greece, alongside additional operational support teams based in Australia and working in partnership with local Greek providers.

Aircraft will be positioned across 11 bases, including key island locations and mainland sites from Araxos in the west to Alexandroupolis in the east, and from Ioannina in the north to Crete and Rhodes in the south.

The fleet will undertake aerial firefighting operations, including water bombing and the transport of ground crews, with additional capability to support evacuation, search and rescue, and broader disaster response activities.

Other aircraft fleets are also active: Coulson Aviation reports on its N561CG currently making the journey back to North America after completing its contract in Australia. Here’s a nice photo in Pago Pago, Samoa at sunset.

A report commissioned by Avincis – the largest provider of aerial services across Europe – concludes that Europe is dangerously unprepared to tackle an increase in wildfires and must expand its aerial firefighting capabilities and investment.

Avincis brought together a group of academics, business leaders and professional firefighters to produce the report, released at the Aerial Fire Fighting Series: Global Conference and Exhibition, in Rome, Italy, in March. This follows a record-breaking wildfire season in 2025, which saw more than 1.03 million hectares burn across the EU – more than any year on record – with 81 per cent of the damage concentrated in just five countries.

The report – ‘Up in flames: The challenges of fighting wildfires from the air in a hotter Europe’ – says the size and age of Europe’s aerial firefighting fleet is the most acute operational vulnerability. The €600 million commitment by the European Parliament in 2024 to procure 22 DHC-515 aircraft – amphibious firefighting aircraft developed by De Havilland Canada – across six countries, with deliveries staggered between 2027 and 2030, is welcomed by the industry but is far from sufficient.             

The fleet shortage is compounded by a shortage of pilots and aircrew with difficult arrangements for foreign crews to assist.