The L.A. Fires and Canada’s Involvement

t is a tragedy that so early into the new year, a time meant for working toward goals or still recouping from last year’s trials, Los Angeles is experiencing titanically destructive wildfires.  For those unaware, in the first full week of 2025, multiple fires started throughout the L.A. area, with others appearing later. While many of these fires began unintentionally, some seemed to be deliberate, although all were exacerbated by high winds in the area that assisted in dispersing the flames. This rapid spread of fire made containment a herculean task for many of the brave firefighters from the LAFD, along with incarcerated volunteers. While the ethics of using inmates to fight fires is questionable, it is not this article’s topic, but we encourage our readers to come up with their own opinions.

The L.A. fires have been cataclysmic for many. As of 14  January, the fires have claimed the lives of twenty-four people, a number that is sadly likely to increase as rescue and recovery work continues. The fires swept through forty thousand acres of the greater L.A. area, destroying over an estimated twelve thousand structures.  Some even suggest this might be one of the costliest disasters in U.S. history, with some estimating monetary losses exceeding U.S.$200 billion. It is difficult to confirm the overall costs of the fires as the issue is ongoing, and the costs are likely only to increase until all fires are contained.

L.A. is not alone in its plight. Countries worldwide are assisting, such as Ukraine, a nation at war, which offered its firefighters to help. Canada and its provinces also offered aid despite the ongoing tension between many Canadians and Americans given recent remarks by elected U.S. president Donald Trump. Over eighty firefighters from many provinces, including British Columbia and Alberta, have arrived stateside to help fight the fires. Canada also made an invaluable contribution in the form of materials to fight fire, arguably the most useful being Super Scooper planes. These amphibious aircraft skim the top of water whilst taking water into their hold, which can then be dumped on fire from above. Since arriving, these planes have made dozens of drops over the impacted areas. While the true impact of these fires is yet to be known and their occurrence has led to many questions being raised politically and environmentally, Canadians can take pride in the fact that we started the year by showing that we are meant to help others when we can, regardless of political tension.