Navajo Scouts deploy to battle California wildfires
NAVAJO NATION - A team of Navajo firefighters is headed to southern California to battle several wildfires that have broken out.
"As more people evacuate the Los Angeles area from the blazing wildfires, our Navajo Scouts are answering the call to help fight and protect the millions of people in LA County who are fleeing their homes," said Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren on Jan. 9.
He asks the community to keep the team in its thoughts and prayers so they can all return home safely.
"According to reports from California Fire, there are currently five active fires: the Palisades Fire, the Eaton Fire, the Hurst Fire, the Lidia Fire, and the Sunset Fire. The Palisades Fire has already burned over 17,234 acres, while the Eaton Fire has charred approximately 10,600 acres. Both of these fires ignited on January 7 and have forced massive evacuations, destroying homes and property, and tragically resulting in five lives lost," Nygren said.
Twenty-three members will be battling the fires," the president said, "including a courageous female wildland firefighter."
He says the team is highly trained to fight fires like these.
All the members represent various communities in the Navajo Nation.
Photo courtesy of Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren
The backstory
Several wildfires continued to burn across the Los Angeles area on Thursday, destroying homes and businesses, closing schools, clogging roadways and forcing tens of thousands of people to flee.
Roughly 180,000 people were under evacuation orders.
The Palisades Fire broke out on Tuesday morning and ripped through Los Angeles’ Pacific Palisades neighborhood, a hillside area along the coast.
In the frantic haste to get to safety, roadways became impassable when scores of people abandoned their vehicles and fled on foot, some with suitcases.
A second fire, dubbed the Eaton Fire, broke out Tuesday evening near Pasadena. FOX 11 Los Angeles’ crew was at the scene in Altadena as a group of nursing home residents were being evacuated from the area. In addition to family members and loved ones living in nursing homes, animals were also seen being escorted out of the dangerous fire.
Five people died as a result of that fire, county officials confirmed Wednesday afternoon.
Meanwhile, firefighters were battling a third blaze, called the "Hurst Fire," that started around 10:30 p.m. Tuesday. It quickly prompted evacuations in Sylmar, a San Fernando Valley community that is the northernmost neighborhood in Los Angeles.
At least three additional fires, the Tyler Fire in Riverside County, the Woodley Fire around the Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Reserve in Encino, and the Sunset Fire in the hills above Hollywood Boulevard, broke out on Wednesday – adding to the dire situation for firefighters working to contain the flames.