LOS ANGELES (CNS) - The Angeles National Forest Service is sending 20 firefighters to Australia to help battle the raging wildfires in that country, a spokesman said today.
The firefighters, who come from all parts of the L.A. Metro area and who battled the Saddle Ridge Fire in October, will assemble at the Little Tujunga Hotshot Station at 12371 Little Tujunga Canyon Road at 3 p.m. Monday, said Forest Service spokesman Andrew Mitchell. The firefighters are scheduled to fly out of Los Angeles International Airport at 4:30 that afternoon.
“Australian firefighters come over here to train with us to fight out fires, so we are returning the favor to them,” Mitchell said.
The request for assistance came through the National interagency Fire Center in Idaho, he said.
The firefighters will be in Australia for 35 days before they are rotated out, Mitchell said.
“It's possible we will send over another crew, when this crew rotates out,” he said.
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