President Barack Obama delivered his condolences to Israeli fire victims and pledged U.S. assistance shortly before the annual White House Chanukah party last week.
Obama said Dec. 2 that an effort was launched by “the U.S. government to identify the firefighting assistance we have available and provide it to Israel as quickly as possible. Of course, that’s what friends do for each other.”
Dan Shapiro, the top U.S. National Security Council official handling Israel policy, and Nancy Lindborg, an assistant administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development, worked through much of the weekend coordinating the U.S. assistance.
According to Lindborg, five transport aircraft delivered 111 metric tons of fire suppressant and 3,800 liters of fire retardant. Another eight transports with aerial firefighting capacities were on the way when Israel informed the United States that the fire was under control, she added.
A team of 10 experts on wildfires was flown in, and a 60-person firefighting team was on standby in Boise, Idaho. — jta