US firefighters battling multiple massive blazes are stretched and at least five people have died as strong winds hamper efforts to control the inferno.
Australian fire authorities – including the National Council for fire and emergency services (AFAC) – confirmed on Thursday no official request for help has been made by the US so far.
A spokeswoman for the council – whose National Resource Sharing Centre facilitates international deployments – stressed it didn’t want to speak on behalf of its US colleagues about the likelihood of a request for assistance.
By 1pm on Thursday, fire crews from nearby US states including Oregon, Washington, Utah and New Mexico were heading to Los Angeles to join the efforts.
CFA Chief Officer Jason Heffernan expressed condolences to the families of fire victims in the US. (Joel Carrett/AAP PHOTOS)
Victoria’s CFA Chief Officer Jason Heffernan said his force had the people of Los Angeles in their hearts and wasn’t aware of any requests for assistance yet.
“Victoria all too well knows the devastation of out-of-control bushfires,” he told AAP.
“We send our condolences to the family of those who have perished, and sympathy for those who have lost it all as a result of the ongoing fire crisis.”
The Associated Press reported just 750 firefighters were attending the wildfires before backup arrived.
A Fire and Rescue NSW spokesperson said the organisation was watching the situation “with interest”, and would weigh up a request if it comes through.
An arrangement between 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.
The US and Australia have a history of assisting each other during bushfire emergencies. (Dean Lewins/AAP PHOTOS)
The US National Interagency Fire Center said several hundred of their personnel were sent to Australia to help deal with the Black Summer bushfires.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the images coming out of California would be “triggering” for Australians who had been through similar fires.
“We’re 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.”
