SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today announced that the California National Guard will support the state’s ongoing response to the Line Fire in San Bernardino County.
Through its activation, authorized under the Line Fire state of emergency, the California National Guard will deploy:
- Four UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters for water bucket dropping operations
- Two C-130 aircraft with Modular Airborne Fire Fighting Systems (MAFFS)
- Four 20-person hand crews (80 soldiers). They report to Camp Roberts tomorrow for equipment distribution and will be assigned to the Line Fire on Thursday in support of CAL FIRE.
- One military police company to support the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department with traffic control points in evacuated areas.
“As the Line Fire continues to pose a threat to San Bernardino communities, we’re pouring resources into this incident aggressively by deploying more air and ground support through the California National Guard. This is on top of nearly 2,000 firefighters, nearly 200 engines, and air assets we already have tackling this fire. California stands with these communities and has their backs,” said Newsom.
In addition to the air and ground support, Cal Guard is also assigning one military police company for law enforcement support (area security, traffic control points in evacuation areas) to assist the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Office.
Moving quickly to support the state’s response to the Line Fire, Governor Newsom on Saturday proclaimed a state of emergency in San Bernardino County and announced that California has secured a Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG) from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to help ensure the availability of vital resources to suppress the fire.
The fast-moving Line Fire near the City of Highland has burned more than 23,000 acres, forcing the evacuation of residents and threatening homes and critical infrastructure.
