Key Points
- Over 11,700 hectares of land have burnt and five people have been confirmed dead in the Californian fires.
- Senator Jenny McAllister said the government is yet to receive any requests for help from the US.
- Australia and the US have a long history of firefighting cooperation.
Australia is “ready to assist” if United States authorities ask for help battling wildfires that continue to rage in Los Angeles, Emergency Management Minister Jenny McAllister says.
Over 11,700 hectares of land have burnt and five people have been confirmed dead as several large wildfires continue to burn around the Californian city.
The blazes have also caused a “high number” of significant injuries, power outages, closures of schools, and cancellation of film premieres and other significant events.
Firefighting crews from nearby states Oregon, Washington, Utah and New Mexico have been deployed to California to help battle the blazes.
Speaking to Sky News on Friday, Senator Jenny McAllister said the government is yet to receive any requests for help from the US but would do “everything we responsibly can should a request come before us”.
McAllister said Australia and the US have a long history of cooperation in firefighting.
“We actually had personnel in the US over the course of 2024, and of course, we’ve received great benefit from US personnel coming to Australia in previous years as well,” McAllister said.
Minister for Emergency Management Jenny McAllister said the US and Australia have a long history of firefighting cooperation. Source: AAP / Mick Tsikas
An arrangement between Australian and US emergency services bodies signed in 2017 means either can request frontline assistance from the other.
In August, 71 fire management personnel from Australia and New Zealand helped fight a string of wildfires across the American west as part of the arrangement, spending about a month in the US.
Asked how Australia could spare firefighting resources during its own bushfire season, McAllister said she would assess any calls for assistance against local needs.
McAllister said governments need to “step up” as fires become more frequent and more severe in the future.
“We’ve received advice from the scientists very clearly for years that these kinds of circumstances are going to arise more frequently and we are going to confront fire seasons that in some instances will be unprecedented,” she said.
In the last federal budget, the government allocated an additional $35 million over two years to the National Aerial Firefighting Centre, which coordinates the specialised fleet of aircraft.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Australia is “always available to help our American friends.”
“This is, of course, our peak season, and it says something that this is coming into their winter,” he said.
“More and more we are seeing a pattern where there is a new normal of more extreme weather events and more intensity to them … it is tragic there has already been a significant loss of life.”
Australia has been battling its own bushfires in recent weeks, including that was contained this week after 21 days and more than 76,000 hectares of national park and agricultural land burned.
With additional reporting by the Australian Associated Press.
