Canadian cavalry of firefighters and planes heading to help battle L.A. fires

Ontario, Alberta and Quebec are sending help to battle the devastating flames

Published Jan 09, 2025  •  3 minute read

A home burns during the Palisades Fire in Pacific Palisades, California, on Jan. 8, 2025. At least five people have been killed in wildfires rampaging around Los Angeles, officials said Wednesday. Photo by AGUSTIN PAULLIER /AFP via Getty Images

A cavalry of firefighters and supplies from across Canada is adding to the efforts underway by weary L.A. fire crews battling several fires across the City of Angels.

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Ontario is providing supplies and personnel, including 165 urban firefighters, to support California in its fight against wildfires, Premier Doug Ford’s office said on Thursday.

The province is also sending two water bombers with pilots, hoses, pumps, chainsaws, axes and other equipment according to an email from Grace Lee, spokesperson for Ford’s office.

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“These staff have expertise in logistics, command and coordination, communications, response planning, safety and mapping,” Lee said. Ontario can send more firefighters if required, she added.

Premier Danielle Smith announced on Thursday that Alberta is joining the fight too.

“We are preparing to deploy incident command team support to California, as well as additional wildfire-fighting resources, including water bombers and night-vision helicopters,” Smith said in a post on X.

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“Our hearts go out to everyone in California who has been evacuated due to the devastating forest fire,” Smith said.
Alberta is also actively working with the federal government and the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre to assess California’s needs.

The western province is no stranger to wildfires and evacuations.

In July 2024, thousands were forced to evacuate Jasper National Park as fire ripped through the region, causing significant destruction.

In 2016, wildfires in the Fort McMurray area sparked evacuation of tens of thousands of residents as fire went on to destroy about 2,400 structures.

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Quebec’s forest fire protection agency, SOPFEU, led the charge south. It said on Wednesday that two water bombers and crews were already in the L.A. region.

SOPFEU says two planes are sent to the U.S. each fall as part of an annual contract, which was extended this year because of the L.A. emergency.

The Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre (CIFFC) says it has received a request from the National Interagency Fire Center in the U.S. for two CL-415 skimmer air tankers with flight crews to operate in southern California.

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Emergency Preparedness Minister Harjit Sajjan said in a post on X that resources and equipment will be mobilized as needed.

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The good news from L.A. is that firefighters battling the multiple blazes began to slow the spread on Thursday, as ferocious winds that drove the flames diminished, though the largest blazes are still burning out of control.

Crews managed to knock down a major threat that broke out Wednesday evening in the Hollywood Hills, close to the heart of the entertainment industry.

Water dropped from aircraft helped fire crews quickly take control in the Hollywood Hills and Studio City, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said. Much of the devastation that has occurred was due to grounding of those aircraft on Tuesday due to high winds.

The metropolitan region, home to 13 million people, is pockmarked by haunting scenes of destruction. The five deaths recorded so far were from those two fires. Cadaver dogs and search crews are searching through rubble and the death toll is expected to rise, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said.

Fire officials said Thursday that they still don’t yet know what caused the fires. They continue to investigate.

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