B.C. wildfire crews return from California deployment to combat L.A. fires

Roughly 35 B.C. firefighters are now back home after spending two weeks helping crews fights the wildfires in California.

The BC Wildfire Service (BCWS) members helped fight the deadly Palisades, Eaton, and Hughes wildfires that ravaged the Los Angeles County throughout January.

The Ministry of Forests say the crews are part of two separate groups, the first consisting of 13 technical specialists who were deployed on Jan. 11 to support the effort to combat the Palisades wildfire in L.A.

Then, on Jan. 16, the BC Wildfire Service sent another 22 front-line firefighters along with an agency representative to California.

The second crew worked on front-line fire suppression and other activities targeting the Eaton and Hughes wildfires to the east and north of Los Angeles.

The wildfires are now considered contained, but 29 people were killed and as many as 19,000 homes and other buildings were destroyed since the fires started on Jan. 7.

B.C. Forests Minister Ravi Parmar says the firefighters also brought back valuable training in fighting large fires that threaten both wildlands and urban centres.

“What we saw from our BCWS crews was truly heroic. They ran headfirst into one of the worst wildfires the US has ever seen,” said Parmar.

“They answered the call, the same call they’ve received countless times – the call to act, and to save lives, by putting their own on the line. Thank you.”

—With files from Srushti Gangdev