More than 70 firefighters and disaster relief workers from the National Forestry Commission and Ministry of Defense in Mexico arrived on Saturday in Los Angeles to augment the capacity of local efforts.
“Emergencies have no borders – we are deeply grateful to our neighbors in Mexico for their unwavering support during one of our greatest times of need,” Governor Gavin Newsom said. “Thank you to President Claudia Sheinbaum for lending the best of the best.”
Firefighters will form hand crews to assist in firefighting operations, working with the state’s now 14,000 personnel battling the Palisades and Eaton fires in Los Angeles, including firefighters, guard service members, highway patrol officers and transportation teams to support the ongoing firefight.
Canada has also been supplying support. Two CL-415 planes, which help battle fires, are annually sent to California from the Canadian province of Quebec under a 31-year-old agreement between the governments, according to reports.
On Thursday, then-Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted a video of one of the planes dropping water over the fires, captioned “Neighbours helping neighbors.”
Support from the two countries joins resources from Northern California and other Western states including Nevada, Oregan, Texas, Utah, New Mexico, Colorado, Idaho and Washington, according to Cal Fire.
Los Angeles wildfire survivors can go to CA.gov/LAfires – a hub for information and resources from state, local and federal government.
Individuals and business owners who sustained losses from wildfires in Los Angeles County can apply for disaster assistance online at DisasterAssistance.gov or:
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By calling 800-621-3362
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Using the FEMA smartphone application
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Assistance is available in over 40 languages
If you use a relay service, such as video relay service (VRS), captioned telephone service or others, give FEMA the number for that service.
Additional reporting by City News Service.
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