Sept. 9 (UPI) — The Line Fire in California’s San Bernardino County is only 3% contained Monday after expanding to 20,552 acres and forcing thousands of people to evacuate since it ignited four days ago.
On Monday , Gov. Gavin Newsom activated the California National Guard to assist firefighters.
The order authorized the guard to deploy 80 soldiers as hand crews and it approved the use of four UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters and two C-130 cargo planes to drop water and fire retardants. Also, Cal Guard will send a military police company to assist local law enforcement in evacuated areas.
“As the Line Fire continues to pose a threat to San Bernardino communities, we’re pouring resources into this incident aggressively by deploying more air and ground support through the California National Guard,” Newsom said. “California stands with these communities and has their backs.”
When the fire scorched 7,000 acres on Saturday, Newsom declared a state of emergency and announced the state has secured a Fire Management Assistance Grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency “to help ensure the availability of vital resources to suppress the fire.”