Morocco bolsters Canadair fleet, Algeria yet to get its first fire-fighter

Morocco has increased its firefighting capabilities with the reception of 3 new Canadair water bombers bringing total fire extinguishing aircrafts to 8. Meanwhile, Algeria is still dragging its feet on procuring one.

An outlet specializing in Royal Armed Forces news, FAR Maroc, said on social media that Morocco is now testing the third Canadair in a batch of three water bombers ordered last year.

Morocco is the only country in Africa which operates five Canadair aircrafts which have been currently deployed to extinguish fires in northern Morocco

The new Canadair-CL 515 planes are an upgraded version of the CL 415 fleet used by Morocco. The new planes can carry 7000 liters of water and have a better maneuvering capacity thanks to their bigger engines.

Wildfires are common during the summer season in Morocco as is the case with the rest of the Mediterranean region.

Morocco has sent its water bombers on multiple occasions to help friendly Mediterranean states control wild-fires. Last year, Morocco offered Algeria to send two fire extinguishers as blazes ravaged the Kabylie region. The offer fell on deaf Algerian ears.

Algerian rulers who ordered water bombers from Russia did not get any so far. President Tebboune was filmed in a video sharing a conversation with American participants at a fair in Algiers seeking Canadair fire fighters, saying it was urgent to get one, as if he was ordering a toy.

As the summer season approaches so is the risk of ravaging wildfires in the bushes and forests of north Africa leaving Algeria exposed again to losses. Last time, the Algerian regime blamed “foreign hands” and rehashed conspiracy theories to cover its unpreparedness and failures in controlling the fires. Who will they blame next this summer in case of wildfires god forbid?