Viral Video of South African Firefighters Misrepresents Their Role in LA Wildfires

A 2023 video of South African firefighters in Canada has been falsely linked to the ongoing Los Angeles wildfires.

A video showing South African firefighters singing and dancing at a Canadian airport in 2023 has been miscaptioned as depicting their arrival to fight the 2025 Los Angeles wildfires.
The footage was originally recorded in June 2023 when the firefighters were deployed to Canada to assist with record-breaking wildfires in Alberta.
No South African firefighters have been sent to assist with the current Los Angeles wildfires, according to a South African news agency and official sources.
The Los Angeles wildfires, which began on January 7, 2025, have caused significant destruction, with over 12,000 structures damaged or destroyed and at least 25 fatalities reported.
International firefighting support for the Los Angeles wildfires includes personnel from Mexico and Canada, but the viral claim about South African involvement is demonstrably false.