France, Germany, Italy and Spain offered Portugal help to battle forest fires raging across the country on Sunday after Lisbon made a request to the EU's executive Commission, officials and local media said.
France said it had sent two specially equipped aircraft to Portugal.
A spokesman for the French Civil Safety unit said the two Canadair aircraft would be lent to the Portuguese for at least two days, with an extension depending on need in France which is also battling forest fires of its own. "Yesterday evening we received an official request from the Portuguese govt asking the Commission to help," Commission spokesman said.