American firefighters got a hero’s welcome when they arrived in Australia to help battle the country’s devastating fires.
Travelers at Sydney’s international airport cheered and clapped Wednesday as the group of firefighters walked off of their plane and through the airport.
Firefighters from across the United States have signed up for a roughly 30-day mission to aid Australian firefighters in extinguishing the massive fires that are currently plaguing the country.
Australia’s fires have been going for months and have burned more than 7.3 million hectares (17.9 million acres) across its six states — an area larger than the countries of Belgium and Denmark combined. The fires are blamed for 27 deaths. Reports are also coming in that nearly 1 billion animals have lost their lives due to the wildfires.
