SoCal fire departments send crews to help fight New Mexico wildfires

Several Southern California fire departments have deployed crews to help fight wildfires in New Mexico, as wildfires ravage the state.

On Thursday, the US Federal Emergency Management Agency activated teams ahead of the planned weekend departure.

Crews were dispatched to help search for victims after the South Fork and Salt fires combined to torch more than 23,000 acres, damaged more than 1,400 homes and other buildings and forced more than 8,000 people to flee their homes.

Featuring the Los Angeles County Fire Department K9 Human Remains Detection Team, consisting of Fire Capt. Celina Serrano with K9 Prentiss and Firefighter Paramedics Nicholas Bartel, Edward Ruiz and Jonathan Mungia with K9s Six, Harper and Clifford , crews from the Los Angeles Fire Department. , the Orange County Fire Department and the Riverside County Fire Department were dispatched to New Mexico.