A California Air National Guard rescue crew prepares their Pave Hawk helicopter to join in the battle against the Palisades Fire. Photo: Army Master Sgt. Ray Aquino, National Guard/ US DoD
THE US military is joining the firefighting effort in Los Angeles as Australia stands by to help if needed.
According to the US Department of Defence, over 600 California National Guardsmen (or reservists) have been deployed including 14 hand crews for fuel mitigation, 200 military police and 10 helicopters for firefighting and search and rescue operations.
The death toll from the fires has now reached 24 as firefighters struggle to contain the flames with more winds expected to hit later this week. At least 150,000 people have been displaced and more than 12,000 structures destroyed.
March Air Reserve Base, about 60 miles east of LA, is now serving as a staging base for efforts by the Federal Emergency Management Agency supported by a military co-ordinating officer and support presence.
Eight firefighting C-130 Hercules are also being deployed while US President Joe Biden says 500 active-duty personnel from Camp Pendleton in California are preparing to help with route clearance, distribution, search and rescue, rotary wing, airlift, and general support.
Ten US Navy helicopters are also being equipped with water delivery buckets to aid in aerial firefighting.
President Biden says the fires are already the worst in California.
“The scope, the scale, and the erratic movements of these fires is truly unprecedented. I mean, it’s truly unprecedented,” he told reporters at the White House.
“Day after day, these firefighters have been pulling 24-hour shifts, rushing the flames with hurricane-force winds as well, to rescue people, to evacuate neighbourhoods, and put these fires out.”
AUSTRALIA STANDS BY
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese stands ready to help if and when asked but was mindful of the overlap between fire seasons.
“One of the issues that we have, of course, is we do need to be cognisant of the fact that this is our fire season as well,” he said on Friday.
“We need to make sure as well that we don’t send assets that we quickly need to get back as well.”
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Albanese described the LA fires as “unseasonal” and “something we need to be conscious of” given that the bushfire season in both hemispheres is extending.
He also praised the work of firefighters and volunteers in bringing recent fires in the Grampians National Park under control.
On Friday, areas of the park unaffected by fire reopened to the public including the northern section of the Grampians Peaks Trail from Mt Zero to Halls Gap.
Some walking tracks south and west of the fire-affected area have also re-opened including Mt Sturgeon, Mt Abrupt and the Victoria Range.
