Old Video Of South African Firefighters Going Viral Linking To The Los Angeles Wildfire.

The Los Angeles wildfire killed at least 24 people, destroyed thousands of homes and forced 100000 people to evacuate. Against this backdrop, a video of South African firefighters singing and dancing in an airport went viral on social media. The video has been shared with the claim that a group of South African firefighters have landed in Canada to make their way to Los Angeles to help in the wildfire. 

Facebook Link | Archived Link.

However, as we investigated, we came to know that the claim was misleading. The video is old and not related to the current wildfire in Los Angeles. Here’s the fact check.

Fact Check 

We started our investigation by taking some screenshots from the viral video and conducting a reverse image search. This led us to the YouTube channel “WFAA” where the viral video was uploaded on 9 June 2023. According to the information provided in the video, more than 200 South African firefighters arrived in Edmonton, Canada, to help fight wildfires. The firefighters performed a traditional song and dance upon their arrival at the Edmonton airport.

Moving forward, conducting a relevant keyword search, we found the viral video uploaded on the official LinkedIn profile of the “Edmonton International Airport (YEG)” in June 2023. The caption of the post read, “Answering the call of duty across continents, 200+ South African firefighters have landed in #YEG to assist with wildfire fighting efforts in our province. 

In an awe-inspiring display of resilience and cultural pride, they greeted #YEG with a spirited song and dance in the wee hours of the morning this weekend.

Thank you, #MZANZI1! 

#2023WoFCanadianDeployment#Thankyou#FireFightersUnite”

The same video was uploaded on a Facebook page on 10 June 2023 with the caption, “Over 200 firefighters from Working on Fire in South Africa have arrived in Edmonton, Alberta to assist local crews in battling ongoing wildfires. Video shared online by the Edmonton International Airport shows members of Working on Fire breaking out into song and dance after landing at the airport Sunday, June 4th.

Video courtesy: LinkedIn/Edmonton International Airport (YEG)”

Archived Link

It is worth mentioning that beginning in March 2023, and with increased intensity starting in June, Canada was affected by a record-setting series of wildfires. All 13 provinces and territories were affected, with large fires in Alberta, British Columbia, the Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Ontario, and Quebec. The 2023 wildfire season had the most area burned in Canada’s recorded history, surpassing the 1989, 1995, and 2014 fire seasons, as well as in recorded North American history, surpassing the 2020 Western US wildfire season.

South Africa deployed 200 firefighters to help fight the Canadian wildfires that had spread a band of thick haze and smoke across the northeast United States causing the worst air quality levels in decades.

We came across several news reports that stated that South Africa deployed 200 firefighters to fight the Canadian wildfires in 2023. 

Please read here and here.

This makes it clear that the viral video is old and not related to the current wildfire in Los Angeles.

Conclusion 

From our investigation, we can say that the claim is misleading. The video of the South African firefighters singing and dancing in the airport is old and not related to the current wildfire in Los Angeles. The video is from 2023 when Sound Africa deployed 200 firefighters to help fight the Canadian wildfires.