Several wildfires have ravaged Los Angeles this week, fueled by dangerously high winds and prolonged dry conditions. The unfavorable weather conditions, number of fires and scale of the fires have made it difficult for the local firefighters to contain the blazes.

But some people on social media have appeared to imply that the current struggle to contain the wildfires could be related to the fact that a Los Angeles fire department donated surplus equipment to Ukraine in 2022. The claim was amplified by Donald Trump, Jr. 

VERIFY reader John emailed us to ask if the claim is true.

Did a Los Angeles-area fire department donate equipment to Ukraine?

Yes, the Los Angeles County Fire Department donated surplus equipment to Ukraine in March 2022.

On March 17, 2022, the Los Angeles County Fire Department (LACFD) announced it was donating “surplus” equipment to help first responders in Ukraine.

The surplus equipment included “hoses, nozzles, turnouts, helmets, body armor and other associated personal protective equipment.” A local news report from the time of the donation said the equipment had been sitting in storage.

The LACFD is a different department than the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD). The same local news report said that the LACFD worked with the LAFD and the National Guard to collect the surplus equipment.

While there is some overlap in their jurisdictions, the Los Angeles County Fire Department and the Los Angeles Fire Department serve two slightly different communities. The LACFD serves unincorporated areas of the county and partnered cities in the county, while the LAFD serves just the city of Los Angeles.

While neither the LACFD or the LAFD have mentioned equipment shortages hampering their efforts fighting the January 2025 wildfire outbreak, the LACFD did say that the combined fire departments across the Los Angeles area lacked the personnel necessary to quickly suppress this week’s major wildfires.

“There are not enough firefighters in L.A. County to address four separate fires of this magnitude,” Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said during a Jan. 8 press conference. “The L.A. County Fire Department was prepared for one or two major brush fires, but not four, especially given these sustained winds and low humidities.”

There is currently a fundraising campaign to help the LAFD acquire equipment, but that equipment is not the same type of equipment as what the LACFD said it donated to Ukraine. The campaign seeks to raise money for emergency personal fire shelters, hydration backpacks and wildland brush tools. 

Over the past few years, fire departments across the U.S., Canada and Europe have donated firefighting equipment to Ukraine, which faces increased fire threats due to missile strikes, according to Nova Ukraine, an organization that delivers the equipment.

For example, the San José Fire Department, also in California, announced it was donating equipment to Ukraine in June 2022. Local media reported that several other major fire departments in the San Francisco Bay area also donated equipment that summer.

The LACFD did not respond to a VERIFY request for comment by the time we published the story.