Washington sending wildland firefighters to help battle California inferno

The Washington State Department of Natural Resources is sending two firefighting crews to the Los Angeles area in an attempt to protect the Angeles National Forest from the fires destroying large parts of the county.

Ten engines meant to fight brush and forest fires and 35 wildland firefighters will be deployed to California following the beginning of mass devastation caused by three fires in the area, according to DNR spokesperson Thomas Kyle-Milward.

The Palisades fire, burning near Malibu, has destroyed more than 15,000 acres and hundreds of homes.

The Eaton fire, located north of downtown L.A. and near the base of the Angeles National Forest, has burned more than 10,000 acres and claimed homes in Altadena and Pasadena, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The death toll had reached five people as of Wednesday afternoon, the newspaper reported.

Washington DNR answered the assistance call Wednesday of the U.S. Forest Service, which sent out a federal request for assistance in protecting the nearby national forest lands.

But the state of California, facing fires that are overtaking the resources of their local fire departments, is also pleading with other states for help.

The state also sent out a nationwide request for 250 structure engines to respond and fight the fires closer to the city, Kyle-Milward said. Thousands of structures have been lost.

L.A. County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said Wednesday there was simply not enough manpower for an emergency of this size, according to the L.A. Times.