Governor Newsom deploys an additional 1,000 California National Guard service members to Los Angeles fires

LOS ANGELES – Governor Gavin Newsom today announced he has increased California National Guard personnel activated to support the response efforts to a total of about 2,500 service members – up 1,000 personnel from yesterday. CalGuard service members are fighting fires and ensuring the public safety of communities, joining the thousands of personnel deployed to combat the hurricane-force firestorm in Los Angeles.

“The men and women of the California National Guard have been on the ground since day one – not only fighting fires, but also assisting with public safety efforts in communities devastated by these fires. We thank them for their efforts to keep our communities safe.”

The increased deployment is expected to be complete by Monday.  

Since the start of the hurricane-force wind event in Southern California, state resources were prepositioned to provide rapid-attack capabilities. In the days following the firestorm, the state has continued to work with local, state, out-of-state and international partners to augment response efforts.

State’s all-in response

With this newest deployment, California has mobilized more than 15,000+ personnel including firefighters, guard servicemembers, highway patrol officers and transportation teams to support the ongoing firefight.

In addition, these response efforts include more than 1,700 pieces of firefighting apparatus, including 1,350+ engines, 80+ aircraft, 150+ dozers and 160+ water tenders to aid in putting out the fires.

On Tuesday, Governor Newsom proclaimed a state of emergency and he subsequently issued an executive order to support communities affected by the ongoing fires. Text of the executive order is available here. On Wednesday, President Biden quickly approved Governor Newsom’s request for a Presidential Major Disaster Declaration to support ongoing response efforts. The state also received continued federal assistance to combat the Hurst, Eaton, and Palisades Fires.

Get help today

Californians can go to CA.gov/LAfires – a hub for information and resources from state, local and federal government.

Individuals and business owners who sustained losses from wildfires in Los Angeles County can apply for disaster assistance:

• Online at DisasterAssistance.gov

• By calling 800-621-3362

• By using the FEMA smart phone application

• Assistance is available in over 40 languages

• If you use a relay service, such as video relay service (VRS), captioned telephone service or others, give FEMA the number for that service.