The Western Cape government has assembled a team of 40 willing and experienced firefighters ready to assist Australia in containing the ongoing wildfires.
However, local Government MEC Anton Bredell said that although the offer was appreciated, the Australian government declined, saying that their assistance is not needed at the moment.
“We’ve all been shocked by the severity of the fires in Australia and we felt where we can make a difference, we’ll certainly try to do so. In the Western Cape, we also combat wildfires quite often, on average about 12,000 wildfires per year, although nowhere near the scale of the fires in Australia,” said Bredell’s spokesperson James-Brent Styan.
Thus far, at least 24 people have died and over 1,400 homes have been destroyed as a result of the devastating wildfires. In addition, one biodiversity expert’s count estimated roughly 1-billion animals were lost in the blazes haunting the country so far, according to Vox.
