SoCal fire departments send teams to help with wildfire response in New Mexico

Several Southern California fire departments have deployed teams to assist with the wildfire response in New Mexico as wildfires ravage the state. 

On Thursday, the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency activated the teams before scheduled departure through the weekend.

The teams were sent to assist in the search for victims after the South Fork and Salt Fires have combined to torch more than 23,000 acres, damaged more than 1,400 homes and other buildings and forced more than 8,000 people to flee their homes. 

Along with the Los Angeles County Fire Department's K9 Human Remains Detection team, which consisted of Fire Captain Celina Serrano with K9 Prentiss and firefighter paramedics Nicholas Bartel, Edward Ruiz and Jonathan Mungia with K9s Six, Harper and Clifford, teams from the Los Angeles Fire Department, Orange County Fire Authority and Riverside County Fire Department were sent to New Mexico.