The team is mainly working on a large fire northwest of Bordeaux and a smaller one southwest of the city.
It is an incredibly large area of 40,000 hectares. The situation is extreme. The fire is dynamic because the winds change direction and strength, says the head of the operation, Markus Green, who is on site with three Swedish pilots flying two planes in shifts.
The smoke from the fire cannot be avoided even by those who work at the airport from which the operation is based.
There are smaller fires around the airport as well.
“Can be very dangerous”
During the extinguishing work, a total of about 15 planes from different countries are in the air at the same time. This makes the mission risky, partly because of all the smoke that obstructs visibility, and partly because the water must be released from low altitude - without hitting the ground crew.
It can be very dangerous if the flights are not done in a well-coordinated way. The pilots fly under strict rules for a maximum of three hours at a time, then they have to rest, says Markus Green.
A major challenge is that the operation consists of several different-sized aircraft and helicopters.
They need to be separated because they fly in different ways.
The actual air coordination was handled by France, with assistance from the other countries.
Get a unique experience
Despite extensive experience from similar operations, the pilots are exhausted after the first day, says Markus Green:
It's very smoky up there. And while some things are always common to a fire, each fire is also unique and has its own challenges.
Markus Green sees the work as a unique experience for the Swedish fire service.
We will have the opportunity to bring home experience that we currently do not have in Sweden.
The Swedish aircraft are part of the EU's crisis reserve, Resceu. The team will remain in France for at least a few more days, according to Markus Green.
It is an extremely pressured situation and we will stay as long as the EU requests.
