While hundreds of Marines and Navy helicopters are prepared to assist, California has not yet requested federal aid. Governor Newsom has deployed the California National Guard to combat the raging wildfires.
Hundreds of Marines and ten Navy helicopters stand ready, but California has not requested help from the Pentagon to fight the raging fires in Los Angeles, according to a Pentagon spokesperson on Friday. The Pentagon currently has 500 active-duty Marines and a variety of equipment on standby, but they have not yet been requested by California. She said they are prepared to support requests of route clearance, distribution of supplies, search and rescue, and air support.
The Marines are only 60 miles east of L.A. at March Air Reserve Base, which is currently serving as a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) staging base. The Department of Defense is also preparing about 10 Navy helicopters with water delivery buckets to help with airdrops. The helicopters are coming from Naval Station North Island, Marine Corps Air Station Camp Pendleton, and Marine Corps Air Station Miramar. The fires began on Tuesday, January 7, at 10:30 a.m. PST. Biden was in California at the time. About six hours after the fire began, around 4:55 p.m. PST, the White House said in a statement: The President has been briefed on the wildfires in Los Angeles and at his direction his team is in contact with state and local officials to offer any federal assistance as needed.The next morning, on Wednesday, January 8, Newsom’s office announced he had deployed the California National Guard to assist with the Palisades Fire, the Eaton Fire, and the Hurst fire. The White House later sent out a press release on Wednesday morning that said Biden had directed the DOD to “rapidly provide additional firefighting personnel and capabilities.” The statement noted that the National Guard was already deployed under the governor’s state of emergency declaration, and that the California National Guard was adding two Modular Air Firefighting System units, and two more are being readied by the Nevada National Guard. “The Department of Defense Northern Command is preparing four more. Additionally, the Department is sending ten Navy helicopters with water delivery buckets are being sent to the region immediately to assist with aerial suppression,” the statement said. I have directed the @DepartmentofDefense to rapidly provide additional firefighting personnel and capabilities to the region being impacted by the Southern California fires. We also continue to work closely with the National Guard. My thanks to the California National Guard and the Nevada National Guard for readily Airborne Firefighting Systems.As far as National Guard assets in California under state authorities — there are currently 800 National Guard personnel from California, Wyoming, and Nevada on the ground or that have been activated to provide assistance,to the DOD. They have been operating 10 helicopters for firefighting and search and rescue operations, and eight Modular Aerial Fire Fighting Systems, or “MAFFS”-equipped C-130 aircraft, have also been activated. California officials have been under fire for not doing more to prepare for the fires, despite being aware of “extreme fire conditions” in advance.With dangerous winds and extreme fire weather forecasted through Thursday in Southern California, Governor Gavin Newsom announced the state is deploying resources to protect California communities.L.A. Mayor Karen Bass (D) — who was in Ghana at the time — actually posted on X a day in advance. “There is an expected destructive and potentially life-threatening windstorm starting Tuesday morning through Wednesday afternoon. Red Flag No Parking Restrictions will go into effect in certain areas tomorrow morning. Stay safe LA!” she posted.Newsom Reveals Firefighters from Mexico Coming to Assist with Eaton FireReport: L.A. Mayor Karen Bass Gave City Workers ‘Rich’ Contracts Before Cutting Fire Department BudgetNewsom: Trump’s Politicizing Wildfires ‘Incomprehensible,’ ‘Threatening Our First Responders’Fight Club Knockout Stories: Los Angeles Got Mugged by RealitySteelers’ George Pickens Disses Own Team After Playoff Collapse vs Raven
CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES MILITARY AID NATIONAL GUARD NEWSOM
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