Mexican Firefighters Step Up When Others Stand Down
Morgan Bernard
Before the read
Q: Why are Mexican firefighters helping with U.S. disasters?
Despite political tensions, Mexican first responders continue to assist during major wildfires and floods across the United States.
Q: How did Mexican firefighters contribute during the Texas Hill Country floods?
Specialized rescue teams from Mexico crossed the border to join life-saving missions after catastrophic flash floods swept through the region.
Q: What does this say about international cooperation during climate crises?
It proves that in times of disaster, borders fade and humanity prevails—offering a stark contrast to divisive immigration policies.
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2025 has seen one natural disaster after another. The year began with the catastrophic fires in Los Angeles (LA), which burned roughly 57 000 acres, destroying over 18 000 structures and killing approximately 440 individuals in the process. The spring brought severe thunderstorms and a flurry of tornadoes around the country that resulted in twenty-seven deaths and dozens of injuries. Then came the catastrophic July 4th flooding in the Texas Hill Country, which resulted in 135 deaths, including twenty-seven from Camp Mystic, a girls’ summer camp, and over $1 billion worth of damage.
As each natural disaster unfolded, critics argued the current presidential administration appeared more focused on boosting deportation numbers than supporting victims, first responders, and their families. Fortunately, we had help. Mexican first responders crossed the border in response to several recent natural disasters, despite the constant vilification of their country by the current administration.
On an unusually warm and windy morning on January 7th, fires broke out in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood in West LA. While wildfires in Southern California are common, fires in January are atypical. The Santa Ana winds, which blow from September through October, are typically at their strongest in January, and the morning of the seventh was no exception. The combination of record-low humidity and the Santa Ana winds turned Western LA into a tinder box. By the next morning, nearly 3 000 acres of the Palisades had burned, and the nearby Eaton fires spread over 1 000 acres. Initially, 1 500 firefighters were dispatched to contain the spread, but over the next several weeks, the fires burned out of control.
Fast rising water floods city street
Mexican Firefighters Battle Devastating Wildfires in LA
On January 12th, seventy-two of Mexico’s best firefighters landed in LA to help battle the Eaton and Palisade fires. After a short training to integrate the foreign firefighters into local efforts, they were dispatched in hand crews to assist in firefighting operations, working alongside California’s 14 000 deployed firefighters, guard services members, and highway patrol officers. Later that same month, Immigration Customs and Enforcement carried out approximately 32 800 at-large arrests. The administration claimed they were deporting terrorists and criminals, yet, by their own admission, half of those arrested within the first fifty days were law-abiding immigrants.
Despite numerous underhanded comments by the president, his renaming of the Gulf of Mexico, the constant threat of military involvement south of the border, and his purge of law-abiding immigrants from the United States, Mexican firefighters once again responded when disaster struck Texas in July. In the early hours of July 4th, while most Texas residents were fast asleep, the Guadalupe River rose approximately 26 feet in just 45 minutes. Entire homes were swept away. Cabins from Camp Mystic were washed downriver. Survivors were found miles away clinging to trees, and many remain unfounded. In total, the flood killed 135 people. It didn’t take long for Mexican first responders to answer the call. As the search for survivors became dire, Mexican first responders from Fundación 911 Acuña, which included search and rescue teams with dogs, joined the search efforts. Despite the ongoing tension between our two countries, the Mexican first responders took pride in their display of unity. Ismael Aldaba, founder of Fundación 911, in Acuña, Mexico, told CNN, “When it comes to firefighters, there’s no borders.”
Two people surveying dry fire risk terrain
History of Mexican Aid in the US
Despite the popular narrative of an almighty US and the constant struggle across the southern border, there’s a long history of Mexico coming to our aid. As early as World War II, the Mexican government lent a hand to the US when it sent the Escuadrón 201 fighter squadron to support US troops in the Pacific. In 1945, the Mexican Air Force flew combat missions alongside their American allies in the Pacific theater.
Massive wildfire flames consume hill landscape
Over half a century later, when Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans and the levees broke, flooding 80 percent of the city, killing 1 800, and displacing over one million people, Mexico sent a convoy of army trucks, helicopters, and several vessels to assist rescue personnel in Louisiana and Mississippi. In Southern California, during the 2007 wildfires, Mexican brigades coordinated efforts with their northern neighbors to help fight the fires on both sides of the border. When Hurricane Harvey hung in the skies over Houston, dumping 50 inches of water on the city in three short days, Mexico offered aid to the state of Texas, and Mexican first responders and Red Cross volunteers worked with Texas officials during the flood response.
