California National Guard to leave border, help stop fires
It's pulling the troops away from President
Starting in April, 110
They will be divided into five teams that will travel around the state working on forest management projects, mainly clearing or reducing trees and vegetation in an effort to deprive flames of fuel.
"They will be boots on the ground doing fuels projects alongside
They have helped fight fires before, however.
Former Gov.
He referred questions about the latest effort to
The training is similar for firefighting and fire protection. Mohler said the troops also will receive some training in forest management, "so they're not just out there cutting brush" but understand why they're doing what they're doing.
For instance, firefighting crews generally cut fire lines down to mineral earth during active wildfires, while fuels management crews often do less-intensive thinning of trees and chaparral to slow advancing flames.
That often involves creating fuel breaks. They can range from stripping away all woody vegetation on wide strips of land to thinning larger trees and removing shorter trees, brush and debris to discourage fires from climbing into treetops and jumping from tree to tree.
Critics say the work damages forests and can be useless against wind-driven fires, like the one that jumped a river to rain embers on the
"
She said the better approach is to make homes more fire resistant while pruning vegetation immediately surrounding homes.
"It's not a problem that's going to get fixed overnight," Mohler said.
Such thinning operations are getting more attention in recent years, with the
The agency estimated that more than 147 million trees have died across nearly 15,625 square miles (40,469 square kilometers) during a drought that began in 2010, while about 1.5 million dead trees have been cut down.
Moreover, investigations have often blamed recent wildfires on utilities not doing a good enough job of clearing vegetation around power lines and equipment. Democratic state Sen.
Aside from Guard troops,
"It's going to be a pretty amazing sight to see as these crews get out there on the ground," he said. "There's hundreds of, unfortunately, Paradises cross the state, (so) the public needs to understand this."
Two more University of Maryland Medical System board members resign amid scrutiny over contracting practices
Report Sees Hurdles For Trump’s Economic Goals
Advisor News
Annuity News
Health/Employee Benefits News
Life Insurance News