Thousands of firefighters are currently battling at least four fires that killed at least two people early Wednesday morning and destroyed more than a thousand structures in the Los Angeles area, according to the county fire chief.
ALSO READ | IN PICTURES: Devastating wildfires in Los Angeles
Images from the Pacific Palisades neighborhood show firefighters battling flames that have engulfed stately homes, while citizens escape through flames, gusts and clouds of smoke. Authorities said Wednesday that at least 70,000 residents had been ordered to evacuate.
A spokesperson for the Quebec Ministry of Transport said Wednesday that two government CL-415 air tankers have been actively participating in the fight against fires in Los Angeles since Tuesday. Both planes are flown to California each fall under an annual contract that has existed for more than 30 years.
Stéphane Caron, of the Society for the Protection of Forests Against Fire (SOPFEU), clarified Wednesday that each tanker plane is dispatched from Quebec with its own crew made up of a pilot, a co-pilot and a technician.
The Quebec Minister of Public Security, François Bonnardel, published a message of support for the governor of California on Wednesday morning on the X platform. He adds that “SOPFEU will be able to send additional firefighters if California wishes.”
“California is currently going through difficult times due to forest fires,” writes Minister Bonnardel. Governor Gavin Newsom can count on the government of Quebec and SOPFEU to support him, if necessary, in this fight.”
Helicopters from British Columbia
In addition, helicopters from Coulson Aviation in British Columbia are “on the front lines” of fighting fires in Los Angeles, according to the company.
-Coulson is based in Port Alberni, British Columbia, but also works in the United States and Australia. The company says its firefighting aircraft in Los Angeles include its fleet of twin-rotor Chinook helicopters and a smaller Sikorsky S-76 helicopter.
The website of the Quebec Ministry of Transport indicates that as part of an agreement dating from 1994, the government air service offers Los Angeles County the rental of two CL-415 air tankers, as well as its flight crew and maintenance, each year from September 1, for a period of three to six months.
“This agreement generates revenue for the government of Quebec, in its provincial mission of fighting forest fires, and allows, among other things, our crews and technicians to perfect their skills,” indicates Transports Québec.
The Canadian Interagency Wildfire Center, which is managed by the country’s various wildfire management agencies, said it has not deployed any resources to fight the fires in California and is not there was no “anticipated demand”.
The British Columbia agency also clarified that its assistance had not been requested in California, but that it “could provide support in the coming days.”
— With information from the Associated Press
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