Braxton Taylor
The Pentagon said Friday that two military C-130 Hercules aircraft equipped with a firefighting system are now flying over Los Angeles and helping with efforts to put out the massive fires that have devastated the area.
The update comes two days after Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh told reporters that 10 Navy helicopters equipped with water delivery buckets would be deployed to the fire while several firefighting C-130s were being readied and standing by.
Speaking to reporters Friday, Singh stressed that the size and scope of the Pentagon’s response to what has already become California’s costliest wildfire was entirely up to the state and other federal agencies and not the Defense Department.
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Los Angeles has been beset by some of the worst fires in the city’s history for several days, and the situation has only been made worse by intense seasonal winds. The inferno has killed at least 10 people — a number that’s expected to rise — and destroyed thousands of structures and triggered evacuation orders for 180,000 people, according to The Associated Press.
“It’s important to note here that the department is not the lead for these efforts,” Singh said. “We are standing by to support … as California requests, but we absolutely cannot just surge assets into an area without a plan.”
Both Singh and Navy officials said that the helicopters are now functionally ready to go — though Singh noted they did have to be certified by California’s Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or CALFIRE, first.
Several Navy helicopters were spotted by a photographer practicing using firefighting buckets in San Diego harbor on Thursday.
“They’re preparing and ready to go for when California is ready to receive them,” Singh said.
Military.com reached out to the Navy for details about what squadrons and helicopters are being tapped for the effort but did not hear back in time for publication.
Meanwhile, Pentagon officials have said that, since the fires have come outside the traditional firefighting season, some of the C-130s had to be refitted with Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System units — technology that turns the cargo planes into firefighting aircraft without major modifications — which also took time.
Singh said six more C-130 airplanes are expected to be ready by Sunday.
She also announced that 500 active-duty personnel currently stationed at Camp Pendleton, California, are preparing to support firefighting efforts.
A Marine Corps official told Military.com on Friday that, while the Marines were ready to respond “just as we would from a MEU for any crisis across the globe,” they had not received a formal request from the Federal Emergency Management Agency or the Department of Homeland Security.
While laws vary from state to state, outside of extraordinary circumstances, the military cannot simply deploy troops or assets to aid in disaster relief without authority from a governor.
Furthermore, active-duty troops require additional logistical considerations like lodging and transportation that become major issues during an ongoing natural disaster.
In the case of these fires, Singh stressed that the Defense Department was “in a supporting role and FEMA is coordinating the federal assistance and response.”
Meanwhile, more than 600 California National Guardsmen have been activated, “including 14 hand crews for fuel mitigation, 200 military police for security operations, and 10 helicopters for firefighting and search-and-rescue operations,” Singh said.
“We’re going to work with California with whatever they need when it comes to addressing these fires happening on the ground,” she said.
— Drew F. Lawrence contributed to this report.
Related: Pentagon, California National Guard Deploying Aircraft and Personnel to Fight Raging LA Wildfires
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