By Ricardo Lezama 
Amid the Los Angeles wildfire and urban fire crisis, SoCal gratitude flows towards the recently arrived Mexican firefighters, agile Canadian water bombing pilots, and on-ground first responders itinerating their duties. On Friday, 72 members of the Secretary of National Defense arrived accompanied by 2 foreign dignitaries and 6 members of the Civil Protection Service.
🇲🇽 Por instrucciones de la presidenta @Claudiashein, personal del @GobiernoMX llegó a California, Estados Unidos, para ayudar en la mitigación de incendios. pic.twitter.com/WU4zbRmxhm
— Gobierno de México (@GobiernoMX) January 12, 2025
In LAX, the Mexican Air Force plane loaded with Mexican firefighters and personnel from SEDENA landed, all of whom are ready to risk their lives for their not-so distant families in need. This was done under the orders of Mexico’s recently elected first female president, Claudia Sheinbaum.
The collaboration between Governor Newsom and President Sheinbaum seems to be the basis of, at least, a media and potentially legal response to the Trump administration’s unhinged deportation efforts.
California is home to the biggest concentration of Mexican outside of Mexico’s officially recognized borders. Unofficially, 1/2 of California considers themselves Mexican and so the close ties are beyond shared political commonalities. The relationship, then, is as deep and as literal as blood.
Massive Effort
Due to the nature of firefighting, workers often combat flames in blocks of 12 to 24 hours at a time. Thus, the hope is that the Mexican firefighters will expand coverage while also alleviate the toll on their colleagues. Governor Newsom reiterated his gratitude for the arrivals via X.
Firefighters from Mexico just arrived at LAX. They'll be joining 14,000+ personnel already battling the #PalisadesFire.
— Governor Newsom (@CAgovernor) January 11, 2025
California is immensely grateful to our neighbors' support in the fight against the wildfires in Los Angeles. pic.twitter.com/qchedlXYK1
A Necessary Glimer of Hope
The world sees firefighters from Mexico arriving in their military aircraft to help save Californian homes and lives. An explicit showcase of international cooperation, it invokes pride over prejudice, and even in the face of potential discord, their dedication to service is a beacon of hope and reassurance. Ultimately, the Mexican firefighters have found themselves in the hearts of Californians, being recognized as outstanding across the firefighting community internationally.