Iran sympathizes with California fires victims, says ready to send aid
Iran expressed sympathy for the victims of the huge wildfires in the US state of California, saying the Islamic Republic is ready to send humanitarian aid.
Iran’s Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref in a post on his Instagram account emphasized that in today’s world, the pain and suffering of one person is the pain and suffering of all.
Meanwhile, Head of the Iranian Red Crescent Society Pir Hossein Kolivand sent a message to his American counterpart Cliff Holtz and announced the organization’s readiness to send relief aid to California.
Kolivand said the extent of the fire shows that tackling the crisis is beyond capabilities of local forces and requires global assistance, and the rapid spread of flames in the heart of nature due is not only a threat to human life, but also to the future of the earth and the environment.
The Iranian official said that his organization is ready to quickly dispatch its specialized rapid response teams and relief equipment to help victims.
Six simultaneous blazes have ripped across Los Angeles County neighborhoods in California since Tuesday, which have killed at least 11 people and damaged or destroyed 12,000 structures, a term that includes homes, apartment buildings, businesses, outbuildings and vehicles. The toll is expected to mount when firefighters are able to conduct house-to-house searches.
No cause has been identified yet for the fires.
The speed and intensity of the blazes ravaging Los Angeles this week have put its firefighting infrastructure to the test – and given rise to questions and criticism surrounding preparedness.
Hydrants ran dry in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood as it was ravaged by one of the region’s five separate fires, while water shortages additionally hampered efforts elsewhere.
“We need answers to how that happened,” California Governor Gavin Newsom wrote in a letter to the heads of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power and the Los Angeles County Public Works.
Calling the lack of water and water pressure “deeply troubling,” Newsom directed state officials to prepare an independent report on the causes.
Los Angeles fire chief Kristin Crowley has also said her city is hampered by a lack of resources.
US President-elect Donald Trump, who returns to the White House in just over a week, has seized upon the drama to attack Democrats, launching a series of evidence-free broadsides accusing Governor Newsom of a variety of failings.