Canary Islands launches 2026 wildfire campaign with 2,600 personnel
The Government of the Canary Islands, through its General Directorate of Emergencies, will activate the 2026 wildfire campaign from 1 June under the regional Special Plan for Civil Protection and Emergency Response to Forest Fires (INFOCA), deploying 2,600 personnel.
The announcement was made this May following the first coordination meeting for the campaign, attended by the Minister for Territorial Policy, Territorial Cohesion and Water, Manuel Miranda; the Deputy Minister for Emergencies and Water, Marcos Lorenzo; the General Director of Emergencies, Fernando Figuereo; and the Head of the Civil Protection and Emergencies Service, Montserrat Román.
Also participating were representatives from the island councils (cabildos), Civil Protection and Management areas, the State Meteorological Agency (Aemet), the Forest Fire Intervention and Reinforcement Teams (EIRIF), the Government Delegation, and the Military Emergencies Unit (UME), according to a press release from the regional Ministry of Territorial Policy.
Updated protocols and increased resources
During the meeting, updates were presented to the protocols established under INFOCA for responding to a forest fire, along with details of the resources and equipment allocated to the islands for this campaign. The total personnel exceed 2,600 — around 100 more than in 2025 — supported by 202 forest firefighting vehicles and 19 aircraft.
The main new feature for this campaign is the addition of a third EIRIF helicopter, which will share a base with the GES (Emergency and Rescue Group) helicopter on El Hierro.
New drones and light firefighting vehicles
This year also sees the introduction of three light forest firefighting vehicles, each with a capacity of 2,300 litres, operated by the EIRIF teams under the Ministry of Ecological Transition and Energy of the Government of the Canary Islands.
In addition, 23 drones will be deployed to strengthen surveillance and prevention efforts: six belonging to the GES and 17 to the EIRIF. The drones are equipped with thermal imaging cameras, used primarily during forest fires to locate hotspots at night and to support ground crews in identifying and extinguishing these points.
Improved coordination and joint exercises
The meeting also agreed on the need to continue promoting communication exercises between the resources of different administrations, as well as drills to test coordination among all involved agencies.
Last year, INFOCA was only activated on a preventive basis.
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