As Los Angeles battles devastating wildfires, Israeli emergency experts shared their insights after tackling hundreds of fires sparked by Hezbollah rocket barrages in the past year
Fires in the Los Angeles area have killed 25 people and destroyed at least 12,000 buildings. Thousands of residents were ordered to evacuate and around 770,000 homes were without electricity as utility companies shut down power in certain areas as a precaution. The fires spread quickly because of high winds and drought conditions. Winds are forecast to increase on Wednesday with gusts reaching as high as 102 km/h.
Israel’s Fire and Rescue Authority said on Wednesday it would dispatch a team of five fire protection experts to the U.S. to provide assistance.
“Firefighting methods are largely universal—creating firebreaks and concentrating manpower. But the game-changer is the weather. In California, low humidity and strong winds make firefighting exponentially harder,” Itzik Oz, Southern District Commander of Israel’s Fire and Rescue Services told The Press Service of Israel. The district oversees 67% of Israel’s territory.
