Gavin Newsom said, “Mutual aid is a beautiful example of people from all backgrounds and communities coming together to help one another.”
By Algemeiner Staff
California’s governor has offered a fulsome tribute to a group of Israeli firefighters who rushed to the state to help their colleagues combat the nearly two dozen wildfires raging there.
The ten Israelis landed in California over the weekend and will spend the coming weeks assisting the state’s emergency response to the blazes.
Tweeting in response to a post that included a photo of the Israeli firefighters, California Governor Gavin Newsom said, “Mutual aid is a beautiful example of people from all backgrounds and communities coming together to help one another.”
“Grateful for the strong partnership between California and Israel, and for this crew of Israeli firefighters who came to CA to help battle these historic fires,” he added.
The fires have burned more than 750,000 acres and forced hundreds of thousands of evacuations.
Steady progress in extinguishing the fires was being reported on Tuesday, but more than 60,000 people remained under mandatory evacuation orders throughout California.
Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg tweeted on Sunday, “Today we welcomed a delegation of firefighters from Israel who arrived yesterday. Tomorrow they will report to the CA Office of Emergency Services and be dispatched to fires around the state. As a Jewish mayor, I’m particularly proud and happy to see them come to our aid.”
US National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien said on Monday, “Thanks to our important ally Israel for sending a team of firefighters to help battle the California Wild Fires. They will join nearly 16,000 heroic firefighters working to keep Californians safe.”