Switzerland is preparing to send two Super Puma helicopters and their crews to southern France on Tuesday, 28 July, to support firefighting operations against massive wildfires that have already forced tens of thousands to evacuate. The deployment, coordinated by the Swiss Armed Forces in close consultation with the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), comes after a French request for aerial firefighting support.
“By deploying helicopters and providing support from firefighters, Switzerland is making a concrete contribution to managing the severe forest fires in France,” said Swiss authorities.
The request from French civil protection authorities was refined over the weekend and now specifically calls for helicopter support in the Var department in southern France, with operations set to begin from Tuesday. Switzerland’s response follows an earlier, broader French request, submitted through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, for four light helicopters to help battle fires further west in the Gironde and Bordeaux region.aboutswitzerland.
Bern’s Department of Defence had been carefully assessing helicopter availability, in part because Switzerland is grappling with drought and an elevated wildfire risk at home. After that assessment, the Swiss Armed Forces decided to deploy two Super Puma helicopters and crews, which departed on the morning of 28 July.
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France Wildfires: Scale Of Crisis
The helicopters are being sent into one of France’s most severe wildfire emergencies in years. Around 280,000 people have been forced to evacuate as fires described as “apocalyptic” tore through the southwest, with roughly 197,000 evacuated from the Bordeaux area alone and thousands of hectares of land scorched. President Emmanuel Macron has activated the EU Civil Protection Mechanism and convened repeated crisis meetings, mobilizing over 1,000 troops alongside international reinforcements.independent.co+2
France has already received extensive international aid, including Canadair water bombers from Croatia, Air Tractor planes from Portugal, and helicopters from the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Germany. Switzerland’s Geneva Fire and Rescue Service (SIS) has also separately deployed about 30 firefighters to the Bordeaux area, running from 25 July to 1 August, alongside specialized vehicles.
The dual Swiss response, helicopters to the Var and firefighters to Bordeaux, reflects the sheer geographic spread of France’s wildfire crisis, which authorities have linked to an early and intense wildfire season driven by prolonged heat and drought. It also highlights the strain on Switzerland’s own emergency resources, given that officials must weigh support for France against genuine fire risk within Switzerland’s own borders this summer.
