Firefighters continue to battle wildfires in the Los Angeles area that have killed at least 25 people and destroyed tens of thousands of homes.
The Palisades, Eaton and Hurst fires, all of which began on Tuesday, Jan. 7, have burned a combined total of about 60 square miles, an area larger than the city of Paris.
As crews work to contain the destructive fires, postscirculatingacross social media claim Mexico and Canada have sent firefighters to California to help crews there. Multiple VERIFY readers, including Kimberly, Jeff, Trish and Karin, asked if that’s true.
THE QUESTION
Did Mexico and Canada send firefighters to California to help combat the Los Angeles wildfires?
THE SOURCES
- California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire)
- Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo
- California Gov. Gavin Newsom
- Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
- Government of Canada
- U.S. Forest Service
- National Interagency Fire Center
THE ANSWER
Yes, Mexico and Canada sent firefighters to California to help combat the Los Angeles wildfires.
WHAT WE FOUND
Mexico and Canada have sent firefighters to southern California to help battle the Los Angeles-area wildfires, according to Mexico’s president, Canada’s prime minister, California’s governor and Cal Fire.
Cal Fire said in an Instagram post on Saturday, Jan. 11, that the state has “expanded its response efforts, welcoming assistance from Texas, Canada and Mexico” to join U.S. states providing support in southern California. Those states include Arizona, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Utah, Colorado, Idaho and New Mexico, according to Cal Fire.
That same day, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum announced that a humanitarian aid group including firefighters was on its way to Los Angeles. Firefighters from Mexico arrived at LAX on Saturday afternoon, California Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a post on X.
The support from Mexico includes more than 70 firefighters and disaster relief workers from the country’s National Forestry Commission and Ministry of Defense, Newsom said in a press release. Firefighters from Mexico were specifically tasked with forming hand crews to assist with firefighting operations, he added.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a Jan. 12 post on X that the country was “deploying 60 firefighters to help battle the California wildfires.” Firefighters from the country were on the ground by the next day, with more crews on the way, according to Trudeau.
The Canadian government provided an update on its response to the California wildfires on Tuesday, Jan. 14.
Alberta sent a crew of 40 wildland firefighters and two support staff to southern California on Jan. 13. The province is also preparing water bombers and contracted night vision helicopters in case they are needed, the Canadian government said. Water bomber planes skim the surface of a body of water, scoop water into a tank and then drop it on a fire.
British Columbia sent a team of senior technical staff to help with incident command work as part of the province’s long-standing relationship with Cal Fire. Québec, which has already deployed several CL-415 water bomber planes to southern California, also has 60 wildland firefighters on standby.
Canada said it was prepared to send more firefighters from the federal government, military and other provinces to southern California if needed.
This isn’t the first time firefighters from Mexico and Canada have helped battle wildfires in the U.S.
Mexico deployed 100 firefighters to support fire suppression efforts in California in September 2020, the U.S. Forest Service said.
“Fires do not have borders, fires do not have different languages and cultures. In the end we all speak the same language when it comes to fighting fire,” Eduardo Cruz, National Fire Director of Mexico’s CONAFOR, said at the time.
In 2016, the National Interagency Fire Center said Canada had helped the U.S. battle other wildfires in recent years, providing fire managers, large air tankers, water scoopers, smokejumpers and wildland fire crews.
The U.S. has also supported Canada and Mexico in their own firefighting efforts in the past by sending American firefighters and planes to assist the countries.
An agreement between the U.S. and Mexico that’s been in place since 1999 allows the countries to work together to put out fires, the U.S. Forest Service says. In April 2011, several U.S. C-130 cargo planes helped battle wildfires in Mexico.
More recently, in 2023, the U.S. sent hundreds of firefighters to Canada. President Joe Biden said in June 2023 that “more than 600 U.S. firefighters, support personnel and firefighting assets” had been deployed to Canada since May of that year.