Hundreds of Marines and 10 Navy helicopters are on standby, but California has not requested help from the Pentagon to fight the fires raging in Los Angeles, a Pentagon spokesperson said on Friday. announced.
“Why isn't the military putting all its forces on the ground now? We have to work with the nation,” said Sabrina Singh, deputy Pentagon spokeswoman. said at a Pentagon briefing on Friday.
“When states request resources and California requests capacity, we stand by and stand ready to support, but we absolutely need to work with the state and ensure that the state and the governor use that “They will know best how to do this,'' she said.
Look — across from Rick Caruso's Palisades Village mall, everything is destroyed:
The Pentagon currently has 500 active-duty Marines and various equipment on standby, but no requests have been made by California yet, Singh explained.
He said he stands ready to assist with requests for navigation, distribution of supplies, search and rescue, and air support.
The Marines are based at March Air Reserve Base, just 90 miles east of Los Angeles, which currently serves as a staging area for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
Singh said the Pentagon is also preparing about 10 naval helicopters with water buckets to support the airdrop. Helicopters are coming from Naval Base North Island, Marine Corps Air Station Pendleton and Marine Corps Air Station Miramar.
It is unclear why California did not claim these assets.
The fire broke out at 10:30 a.m. PST on Tuesday, January 7th.
Take a look — footage shot from a rooftop shows the hellish flames of the Los Angeles fires:
Biden was in California at the time. At approximately 4:55 p.m. PST, approximately six hours after the fire broke out, the White House said in a statement:
The President has been briefed on the Los Angeles wildfires, and at his direction, his team is in contact with state and local officials to provide federal assistance as needed.
At approximately 5:45 p.m. PST, California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) declared declares a state of emergency and allows for activation of the California National Guard.
The next morning, Wednesday, January 8, Newsom's office announced that it had sent the California National Guard to assist with the Palisades, Eaton, and Hearst fires.
The White House then issued a press release Wednesday morning announcing that Biden had directed the Department of Defense to “quickly provide additional firefighting personnel and capabilities.”
The statement said the National Guard has already been deployed under the governor's state of emergency declaration, with the California National Guard adding two Modular Air Fire Extinguishing System units and the Nevada National Guard preparing two more.
“The Department of Defense Northern Command is preparing four more aircraft. In addition, the department is immediately dispatching 10 naval helicopters with water buckets to the area to support air suppression,” the statement said. said.
Biden later posted to X that he was directing them to prepare more assets. He posted:
I have directed @Departmentof Defense to quickly provide additional firefighting personnel and capacity to areas affected by the Southern California Fires. We also continue to work closely with the National Guard.
We would like to thank the California National Guard and Nevada National Guard for quickly deploying airborne firefighting systems.
Ten Navy helicopters carrying buckets of water are on their way.
Regarding California National Guard assets under the control of state authorities, 800 National Guard troops from California, Wyoming, and Nevada are currently on the ground or deployed to provide support. According to to the Department of Defense. They are operating 10 helicopters for firefighting and search and rescue operations, and have also activated eight Modular Air Fire Fighting System (“MAFFS”) equipped C-130 aircraft.
California officials have been criticized for failing to better prepare for the blazes despite being aware of the “extreme fire conditions” ahead of time.
In fact, a press release on Monday, January 6th, the day before the fire broke out, read as follows:
With dangerous winds and extreme fires expected in Southern California through Thursday, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the state would commit resources to protecting California communities.
Specifically, in Los Angeles and Ventura counties and other areas of Southern California.life-threatening and destructiveHigh winds and low humidity will lead to extreme fire danger Tuesday morning into Thursday.
LA Mayor Karen Bass (Democrat), who was in Ghana at the time, actually posted on X a day earlier.
“Destructive and potentially life-threatening storms are expected from Tuesday morning into Wednesday afternoon. Red flag parking regulations will be in effect in some areas tomorrow morning. LA. Stay safe!'' she posted.
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