The U.S. military is actively engaged in fighting against raging wildfires that continue to burn over a large part of southern California, officials said Tuesday.
Paul McHale, assistant secretary of defense for homeland defense, told reporters at the Pentagon that 12 Defense Department firefighting teams, with 12 engines, are already working in the fire area and more than 17,000 National Guardsmen are potentially available if needed.
In addition, he said, 550 Marines from Camp Pendleton are preparing to deploy to the fire area.
"All of the aid that we provide is the result of a request ... from the state," McHale said.
"However, we have been very proactive in independently preparing those capabilities for the possibility of such requests, and we have reached out early to state officials," he added.
The Pentagon provided 11 helicopters equipped with water buckets to fight the fires, McHale said.
In an effort to make room for more civilians who have had to evacuate their homes, sailors stationed in Southern California are abandoning their barracks.
"Orders have been given to all sailors ashore in barracks to move to shipboard billeting to provide room for evacuees," said a Tuesday statement released by the U.S. military.
Only essential personnel are requested to report to duty at Naval Base San Diego, Naval Amphibious Base in Coronado, and Naval Air Station in El Centro.
Those bases have also set up cots and tents for evacuees.
Also, the Navy has offered an Aegis cruiser, a guided missile destroyer, and two fast frigates to support evacuation efforts.
Meanwhile, the Pentagon designated March Air Reserve Base as the primary staging area for medical and relief supplies coordinated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, McHale said.
And some 100 California National Guard medical personnel are helping alleviate "critical staffing shortfalls" at the San Diego Veterans Center, whose hospital staff are under voluntary and mandatory evacuation orders.
The fires are also having a direct effect on military personnel-- McHale said 1,400 Navy personnel and their families have been forced to evacuate, and Camp Pendleton ordered 3,000 Marines to evacuate because of the fire.
For his part, California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has already called up 1,500 National Guard troops, including more than200 taken from border duty to help with supplies and security at San Diego's Qualcomm Stadium and DelMar Fairgrounds and Racetrack, where thousands of evacuated residents are taking shelter.
Schwarzenegger also requested and received from the federal government six "modular airborne fire fighting systems" units -- which are C-130s that drop water and fire suppressant on the blazes.
Since Sunday, over a dozen wildfires have burned across 1,554 sq. km, killing two people, destroying more than 1,600 homes and prompting the evacuation of over one million people in southern California.
U.S. President George W. Bush declared a federal emergency for seven counties in California, a move that will speed disaster-relief efforts.
Source: Xinhua
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