LOS ANGELES — Dozens of specially trained Los Angeles County firefighters are headed to Turkey and Syria to assist in search-and-rescue operations after Monday's massive magnitude 7.8 earthquake, which devastated the region near the two countries' border.
The crew of more than 80 members is one of two from the U.S. being sent to help in the aftermath of the quake. The other is from Fairfax County in Virginia.
The U.S. Agency for International Development deployed the two urban search-and-rescue teams to aid in the response to the destructive earthquake and its aftershocks, which included a 7.5 temblor. At least 4,000 have died, and thousands of buildings have toppled. The casualty count is only expected to grow as first responders continue to sort through wreckage at scenes of mass destruction that stretch miles beyond the quake's epicenter in southeast Turkey.
