Summer 2023, with its temperatures records and numerous extreme events, has taught us not to underestimate the prevention due to fire risk. After a negative season, Europe and Italy are committed to increase the fleet of Canadair vehicles to be used during emergencies. The reality that hides behind the Canadairthat is, they are produced by a company under a monopoly regime. For this reason, the number of vehicles is limited and they are often rented out for the most urgent interventions. The cost however, it is not insignificant, especially with a constantly growing number of air rescue requests due to increasingly virulent fires.
How much does it cost put out the flames it is therefore a European problem and an increasingly urgent one, especially in light of a warm winter which heralds a scenario of Drought And high risk of fires. The problem is that according to agreements the new Canadairs will only start arriving from 2027 onwards.
Increasingly large and violent fires in Italy and Europe: the causes
The report of Commission on Forest Fires in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa of 2023 summarized the number of green hectares lost due to the events. In 2023 the figure exceeds twice the surface area of Luxembourg, i.e over half a million hectares. The report found a intensify fires, particularly in the Mediterranean region and more specifically in Greece. What is worrying are the data that show how the forest fires are increasing even in areas that in the past were not considered at risk and were not because the vegetation was characterized by hard, thick leaves and capable of surviving long periods of drought.
Preliminary data for the first three months of 2024 they are no better and show almost double the average number of fires. The fire emergency is therefore no longer an emergency and this is because it repeats itself every year, with a significant peak towards July (now almost every month sets the record as the hottest ever). Luca Tonarelli, technical director of the Forest Fire Training Center of the Tuscany region, explained in the past that the main problem in Italy is the method of approaching the crisis. In fact, “active struggle” is preferred instead of prevention. Legambiente, in the report Italy in smokedenounced the lack of planning in the face of climate change which leads fires to grow in number and intensity.
Even from a point of view strictly linked to firefighting, therefore to putting out flames, the ITalia has few means.
How many Canadairs are there in Italy?
Last year, controversy erupted regarding the number of vehicles Canadair present in Italy and in Europe. Nello MusumeciMinister for Civil Protection, spoke last January at the Lisbon seminar to denounce the EU’s difficulty in strengthen the air fleet fire prevention due to the Canadair company’s monopoly on production.
At the moment Italy is counting on the work of 19 Canadairs supplied to the Fire Brigade, by the only company that produces them, namely the Canadian Viking Air Limited. The means, compared to theincrease in fires and their danger (several Canadairs have crashed in recent years) are not enough. Europe has therefore developed a system of mutual aid between countries, but it is certainly not a solution. For this a was found agreement to enhance EU response capacity and develop a permanent fleet of Canadair.
The new vehicles though they will not come into operation before 2027 and not all together (23 new aircraft). Between production limits and delays, the vehicles could arrive by 2030, perhaps too late to respond to the vast fires that 2024 heralds.
How much does a Canadair cost? The expense for each fire
Meanwhile the cost of a Candair he is high not only for his management and fielding, but also for all the times he cannot intervene. Putting out a fire has a high cost. Let’s go, come on 15 thousand euros an hour of a Canadairto the 10 thousand an hour for a Ericksonuntil 2 thousand for a Aib regional.
An example of how much it costs to put out a fire was given by the director of fire extinguishing operationsfire in the Alto Garda Park in August 2018. On that occasion Francesco Morzenti he clarified that 80 hectares of parkland were spent to secure the area 4 million euros. The cost includes logistics, fuel, equipment, insurance, medical visits and the recovery of equipment (which in these cases is often destroyed).
You can therefore imagine an average cost for each large fire that varies from 1 to 4 million euros, taking the example of the Alto Garda Park as the most expensive operation. Putting out fires isn’t cheap and, faced with another record-breaking hot summer, thelack of prevention due to the fires it weighs on the pockets of Italians.
Tags: fires Italy Canadairs cost put flames QuiFinanza
