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.
“Why isn’t the military putting all of their forces right now on the ground? We have to work with the state,” Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said at a Pentagon briefing Friday.
“So as the state requests resources, as the state of California requests capabilities, we are standing by and ready to support, but we absolutely have to work with the state, and the state and the governor is going to know best on how to use our assets,” she said.
WATCH — Opposite Rick Caruso’s Palisades Village Mall, Everything Is Destroyed:
The Pentagon currently has 500 active-duty Marines and a variety of equipment on standby, but they have not yet been requested by California, Singh explained.
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.
Singh said 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.
It is not clear why California has not requested those assets.
The fires began on Tuesday, January 7, at 10:30 a.m. PST.
WATCH — Footage Captured from Rooftop Shows Hellish Flames from Los Angeles Fires:
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.
About 5:45 p.m. PST, California Gov. Gavin Newsom(D) declared a state of emergency, allowing for the activation of the California National Guard.
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.
Biden later posted on X that he was directing more assets to be ready. He posted:
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.
Ten Navy helicopters with water delivery buckets are on their way.
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, according 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.
In fact, a Monday, January 6, press release — a day before the fires started — said:
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.
Specifically, Los Angeles and Ventura Counties, as well as other parts of Southern California, are expected to experience a “life-threatening and destructive” windstorm, as well as extreme fire risk from Tuesday morning through Thursday due to high winds and low humidity.
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.
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