Firefighters from Mexico arrive in LA to help fight Palisades, Eaton fires

LOS ANGELES — A team of firefighters from Mexico arrived at Los Angeles International Airport on Saturday, joining the personnel of more than 14,000 already battling the Palisades and Eaton fires in the Los Angeles area.

Around 3 p.m. Saturday, a crew of more than 70 firefighters and disaster relief workers from Mexico’s National Forestry Commission and Ministry of Defense flew in to the county to provide additional international support, according to California Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Newsom thanked Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, saying “California is deeply grateful for President @ClaudiaShein’s support as we work to suppress the Los Angeles wildfires,” on X on Friday.

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 join resources from Northern California and other Western states including Arizona, Nevada, Oregon, Texas, Utah, New Mexico, Colorado, Idaho and Washington, officials said.