President Claudia Sheinbaum said Friday that Mexico was sending a team of firefighters and military personnel to Los Angeles to support the fight against the devastating fires.
As major fires continue to rage in and around Los Angeles, help battling the blazes has come from across the country — and from across international borders, including from Canada and Mexico.
Five wildfires remained active in Los Angeles County on Friday, scorching more than 36,000 acres or about 56 square miles, an area about the size of Miami, according to Cal Fire.
“We’re going to send a support team to Los Angeles,” she told reporters at her morning press conference.
She said the team is made up of National Forestry Commission firefighters and Ministry of Defense disaster relief workers.
Sheinbaum said that the decision to send the team to Los Angeles came after Foreign Affairs Minister Juan Ramón de la Fuente spoke with U.S. and California government officials.
She said that the members of the team are completing the relevant immigration paperwork in order to enter the United States.
“We’re going to help, not just because the people and government of Mexico have always been generous, but also because there are a lot of Mexicans in this part of the United States,” Sheinbaum said.
