California Doubles Number of National Guard Members To Fight Fires
Members of the California National Guard close a security line after the fires in Altadena (USA) this Friday. Photo: EFE/ Ana Milena Varón
January 11, 2025 Hour: 5:07 pm
California Governor Gavin Newsom announced on Saturday that he has doubled the activation of California National Guard troops to operate in the Los Angeles area to fight the fires.
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Los Angeles in Crisis: Wildfires Claim Lives and Destroy Thousands of Structures
So far, the catastrophic fires have already taken the lives of eleven people and thirteen are missing.
In a statement, Newsom noted that the staff of the California National Guard, or CalGuard, activated to support the Los Angeles rescuers has increased to 1,680 members, Who thus adds to the thousands of security forces deployed in the disaster area.
The California government has mobilized more than 12,000 people, including firefighters, police and law enforcement personnel, to join in fighting the active fires that have been going on since Tuesday as well as security and surveillance.
The deployment includes more than 1,600 fire-fighting equipment, including a hundred tanker trucks and some 60 aircraft, according to the note.
The fires have so far consumed more than 14,000 hectares and forced more than 153,000 people to evacuate, according to local authorities.
Fire-fighters have so far managed to contain the entire fire Lidia, while Kenneth is contained at 80%, Hurst at 76%, Eaton at 15% and Palisades at 11%.
