Pentagon, California National Guard Deploying Aircraft and Personnel to Fight Raging LA Wildfires

Military aircraft and technology are being deployed to assist the California National Guard and state firefighters as Los Angeles wildfires continue to rage and thousands flee their homes, but the current smoke and wind conditions are hindering more significant military support, according to the Pentagon.

Ten Navy helicopters equipped with water delivery buckets were being sent to assist with the firefighting efforts, Sabrina Singh, a Pentagon spokesperson, told reporters Wednesday afternoon. Additionally, four military Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System units -- technology that can turn large C-130 Hercules airplanes into firefighting aircraft without major modifications -- can be used if needed.

LA has been gripped for days by the worst fires in the city's history, which have been made more intense by seasonal winds. The blazes have killed at least five people, destroyed thousands of structures and triggered evacuation orders for 180,000 people, according to The Associated Press.

Singh added that the Department of Defense couldn't immediately provide more assets due to the environmental conditions caused by the fires.

"We can surge assets, and the president has directed this department to bolster whatever California needs. But we have to work with California, and right now we can't even get assets up in the air because the fires are so bad and the winds are so bad," Singh said.

This week, a fire started in Pacific Palisades, an area of LA, and began to spread quickly. As of Thursday, California residents were under evacuation orders amid four other fires that have also sprung up in the region, scorching nearly 30,000 acres combined, according to CNN.

Upward of 600 California National Guardsmen were deployed on state orders to assist firefighters and law enforcement with the blazes, California Gov. Gavin Newsom's office said in a statement.

California National Guard assets include 10 rotary-wing aircraft, two C-130 airplanes and a total of 10 handcrews to help firefighters, as well as military police.

"We are putting all available resources behind fighting these wildfires, including leveraging local and federal assets," Newsom said in the statement. "California has thousands of boots on the ground working to combat these fires. The state is leaving no stone unturned to protect California communities."

Two more Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System units are being readied by the Nevada National Guard to assist them, Singh said Wednesday.

According to the state of California, more than 305,000 veterans live in Los Angeles County, with more than 84,000 served by the West Los Angeles Veterans Affairs Medical Center, roughly three miles east as the crow flies from the edge of the massive Palisades fire that has burned more than 17,000 acres.

Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough said Wednesday that the department is working with state and local governments with support planning and emailed area veterans to let them know what services are available through the department.

"We're reaching out to all impacted veterans in that area of the wildfires and making sure that they know that we're here for them," McDonough said.

He added that the department also is "communicating clearly with the workforce," some of whom may have homes in the burned or evacuated areas.

"The bottom line is this: If you want to know about how VA can help you through this storm, or you want to check on your local facility, please call 1-800-MyVA411," he said.

The VA offers housing assistance to veterans who experience homelessness as a result of a fire, and several veterans service organizations, such as Disabled American Veterans, provide disaster relief and grants to members and non-members.

As of Thursday, the state of California had opened four shelters for residents displaced by the fires.

The Los Angeles fires this week were unusually early for California's fire season, which is often at its height in the summer. The Department of Defense sounded the alarm on the effects of climate change -- including more frequent wildfires -- in a 2021 report.

"The unprecedented scale of wildfires, floods, droughts, typhoons and other extreme weather events of recent months and years have damaged our installations and bases, constrained force readiness and operations, and contributed to instability around the world," Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in that report. "Climate change touches most of what this department does, and this threat will continue to have worsening implications for U.S. national security."

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-- By Michael R. Thomas

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