Dozens of Canadian firefighters head to California to help in fire fight
CTV
More than 60 Canadian front-line firefighters are on their way to the Los Angeles area as part of international efforts to fight the raging wildfires that have claimed lives and destroyed thousands homes.
More than 60 Canadian front-line firefighters are on their way to the Los Angeles area as part of international efforts to fight the raging wildfires that have claimed lives and destroyed thousands homes.
A statement from the B.C. Ministry of Forests says a team of 22 crew members and one agency representative left for Los Angeles on Monday and are in addition to a dozen technical specialists who arrived in Los Angeles on the weekend.
The statement says the technical staff, who specialize in advanced planning, logistics, aviation, and fire weather, are expected to be in the United States for at least two weeks.
The Alberta government says 40 wildland firefighters and two agency representatives also left Monday for California.
Alberta Forestry Minister Todd Loewen says firefighters are expected to be on the ground within the next few days and will stay for at least two weeks.
As of Monday morning at least 24 people had died after being caught in the wildfires around Los Angeles, which have burned more than 160-square kilometres in less than a week.
Most of the damage has been caused by two fires — the Palisades Fire and the Eaton Fire. Both are considered to be less than 30 per cent contained as of Monday.
