An Israeli firefighter battling the LA blaze says the house’s resemblance could be an advantage
A delegation of Israeli firefighting experts spent a week in California assisting American firefighting crews palisades infernoand one team member described the experience as “an honor” and an opportunity to give back.
Li-Shay Amor, a 34-year-old Israeli firefighter, arrived in Los Angeles last week with a team of other firefighting experts from her country who worked together with local units and the California Office of Emergency Services using “advanced Israeli technology to help help.” fires,” the Israeli consulate in Los Angeles said in a statement on X.
“It doesn’t matter if you live in Los Angeles, if you live in Miami, if you live in Tel Aviv or Jerusalem. We are all human beings. We have to be together. We have to help each other,” Amor told Fox News Digital in an interview.
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The Palisade Fire destroys the Pacific Palisades neighborhood in Los Angeles at sunset on January 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
With only one day’s notice, Amor hopped on a 15-hour flight around the world, leaving his three young children with his wife because she believed in the importance of helping her “brothers” in America.
“You feel like you have to do something because … you see all the damage,” she said. “The first thing you think about is … those people … those citizens who have everything, their houses. And right now, they … have nothing. Everything is burned to the ground.”
Cupid described Witnessing the devastation Upon arrival in Los Angeles as the American Firefighters briefed their team on the work that had already been done and what they were still doing.
“The moment we got there and we got to the field and to the fire, we met all those firefighters. They opened their minds and opened their hearts … to let us go, to explain to us, to hear what we have to tell them .. . from our knowledge,” she explained.
“We came in with a group … that are all experts. We have a logistics expert. And we have someone who is operational. And we have someone who has fire expertise.”
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A team of Israeli firefighters helped American fire crews fight the Los Angeles Inferno. (X/Israel)
The Israeli experts were sent to Los Angeles with the help of the Emergency Volunteers Project, a federally and donor-funded non-profit organization founded 16 years ago to help Israeli citizens and emergency services during a national emergency, according to its website.
“EVP has sent over 180 firefighters, over 250 medical personnel and several hundred civilians to Israel since the war started. So … given the opportunity to return the favor, they kind of jumped at the chance,” Scott Goldstein, the chief who operated . A disaster relief officer with the Emergency Volunteers Project told Fox News Digital, citing the willingness of Israeli firefighters to help.
“We have a simple mission – to save lives,” Goldstein He previously told Fox News About EVP.
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A team of Israeli firefighters helped American fire crews fight the Los Angeles Inferno. (X/Israel)
“Those American firefighters … came here to Israel … to help us and support us,” Amor said. “This is my turn to give the same love … as all my American brothers of us since October 7th.”
When asked about his own work in Los AngelesAmor praised the American firefighters on the ground.
“They are so brave,” she said pointedly. “They’re actually heroes. … they’re doing everything they can to save and save.”
Amor repeatedly described the strong communication and cooperation between Israeli and American firefighters.
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A fire engulfs a building as the Palisade Fire burns during windy weather on the west side of Los Angeles, Jan. 8, 2025. (Reuters/Ringo Chiu)
Both Amor and Goldstein mentioned the significance of similar landscapes in Israel and California.
“The pitch is identical,” Goldstein said. “If you go to most places in Israel, it pretty much looks like that area.”
Amor explained that she grew up in Haifa, where, like parts of Los Angeles, the location includes mountains, a beach and houses nestled among trees. Then she described The 2016 fire in Haifawhich forced thousands of people to evacuate their homes and said her “knowledge” from that disaster allowed her to come to Los Angeles “to help and support.”
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On the long flight home to Israel, Amor reflected on his time volunteering in Los Angeles and the brave people on the ground in LA, fighting and risking his life every day.
“My only thought was, ‘Wow, what an amazing world we all live in,'” she said. “What amazing firefighters. What amazing people.”
