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| U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Jeffrey D. Smiley, joint staff director, California Military Department, and Chief Master Sgt. Thomas L. James, command senior enlisted leader, California National Guard, review firefighting assets of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) May 4 at McClellan Air Base, Sacramento. CAL FIRE initiated Wildfire Preparedness Week, creating public awareness of the fire season ahead. Via CAL FIRE, being ready for wildfire starts with maintaining an adequate defensible space and by hardening your home by using fire resistant building materials. For nearly three decades, CAL FIRE and Cal Guard share a unique firefighting program as both entities yearly battle a fierce enemy — wildfires. (Army National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Eddie Siguenza) |
CA, UNITED STATES
05.04.2020
Story by Staff Sgt. Edward Siguenza
California National Guard
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — It’s not the novel coronavirus, nor is it terrorism, that the California National Guard deems it’s its greatest annual enemy.
This yearly foe is an unforgivable …. that will strike very soon. And it’s usually this time of year when Cal Guard unites with California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) to prepare for another battle with its nemesis — wildfires.
“We say it every year, and we’re doing it again: It’s not a question of ‘if’ California will burn, it’s when,” said Thom Porter, CAL FIRE director, during a May 4 initiation of Wildfire Preparedness Week. “This year is stacking up to be definitely more difficult looking than last year. Last year we had a lot of snow in the mountains, lots of late-season rain. We had a slow start to our peak fire season. That’s not going to be the same this year.”
Added Porter, “We’ve already started burning. We’re already 400 hundred fires ahead of our average for this time of the year.”
California is still in the mist of the COVID-19 pandemic, but it hasn’t deterred CAL FIRE and Cal Guard from their wildfire readiness. Cal Guard has already initiated air asset training in Southern California, as crews of CH-47 Chinooks and CH-60 Black Hawks are involved. These rotary-powered aircraft utilized “buckets” that can drop hundreds of gallons of water on wildfires that are difficult to reach.
In a matter of weeks, Northern California air assets will commence their preparedness.
Aside from rotary-powered aircraft, Cal Guard is equipped with Modular Airborne Firefighting System (MAFF) air tankers that can drop thousands of gallons of retardant or water on difficult terrain. Cal Guard has provided unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), sometimes known as drones, as eyes in the sky. These UAVs help determine a wildfire’s characteristics, such as its intensity and possible direction.
When necessary, Cal Guard has provided CAL FIRE with ground troops who “mop up” burnt areas. Armed with hand tools, these Soldiers seek and diffuse small fires that could potentially ignite in the future.
Cal Guard has provided other assets, such as military police, fuelers and bridge builders, in previous wildfires.
“We’re better prepared than we normally are. We’ve taken advantage of some of the slowdown in the Department of Defense to leverage money and time that we would otherwise not have available to dedicate to firefighting to further prepare ourselves,” said Maj. Gen. David Baldwin, adjutant general, California Military Department. “We have trained helicopter crews. We have five hand crews already trained and ready to respond immediately. We have identified another 800 Soldiers, Airmen and Sailors that could be available to be trained as firefighting hand crews. We continue to leverage our unique technologies that we have in the military.”
Added Baldwin, “We stand ready.”
Cal Guard activated more than 1,000 Soldiers, Airmen and State Guard personnel for COVID-19 humanitarian support. It recently reached a milestone as Cal Guard troops helped surpass more than 15 million meals packed and distributed to the community via food banks. Cal Guard has assisted at almost two dozen food banks throughout the state since mid-March, when Gov. Gavin Newsom activated the reserve component.
Since 2015, the state has weathered 10 of California’s Top 20 destructive fires in history, according to Mark Ghilarducci, director of California Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES). He noted the Camp Fire in 2018 “being more catastrophic than the ones before.”
“We’re not immune to disasters,” Ghilarducci explained. “We’re challenged regularly.”
CAL FIRE, Cal Guard, and Cal OES unite with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management as well as California law enforcement to encourage everyone to create a fire prevention plan.
“As firefighters, we know that over the last several years we’ve had drought conditions that caused 147 million trees to die in the sierra,” Porter explained. “Those trees are still out there. No amount of rain is going to bring those trees back.”
The public and all California communities to prepare for wildfires during this COVID-19 term. More information can be found at www.fire.ca.gov or www.readyforwildfire.org.
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| Thom Porter, director, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE), announces the beginning of Wildfire Preparedness Week May 4 as California Military Department adjutant general Maj. Gen. David Baldwin supports the announcement during a press conference at McClellan Air Base, Sacramento. Porter commended Cal Guard, noting their partnership has “gotten so tight over the last few years” as firefighting operations became so demanding due to the large and destructive wildfires of late. (Army National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Eddie Siguenza) |
