Cal OES sends helicopters, engines, and hand crews to Los Angeles, San Diego, and Inyo counties to battle critical fire conditions

California – Governor Gavin Newsom has told state emergency officials to send more firefighting resources to several California counties that are dealing with critical fire weather conditions. The California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) has sent extra staff and equipment to Los Angeles, San Diego, and Inyo counties to help with the high temperatures and strong winds that are forecast to raise the risk of fires through the weekend. This is in addition to prior deployments across Southern California.

This week’s prepositioning plan builds on resources that have already been dispatched to Kern, Ventura, Santa Barbara, and San Bernardino counties. There are 52 fire engines, 10 water tenders, 9 bulldozers, 5 helicopters, 10 hand crews, 14 dispatchers, and 2 Incident Management Teams on standby across the seven counties. Local fire departments and the state work together to choose staging areas so that reaction times are as short as possible when new incidents happen.

State authorities stressed that the goal of the program is to keep little fires from turning into big ones. California can decrease response times and give local workers quick help when fires break out by predeploying equipment and people. This approach works well with the Fire and Rescue Mutual Aid System, which remains available to help out in other areas if needed.

Read also: Bay FC teams up with Caltrain to deliver unique match-day ride to Oracle Park

The increase in resources comes at the same time that California’s severe temperature response plan moves into Phase 2. The State Operations Center is keeping a closer eye on both fire dangers and extreme heat conditions under the Governor’s orders. Cooling centers have opened all around the state to help people who are sensitive to excessive heat, notably the elderly and those who don’t have air conditioning.

Officials are urging residents to take precautions during this heightened risk period. Californians should make plans for what to do in case of a wildfire, figure out how to get out of the area, and pack go-bags with important things. Communities are encouraged to sign up for local emergency alerts and check CalHeatScore.CalEPA.ca.gov for heat-related safety updates. Ready.ca.gov has more information on how to be safe from fires and be ready for them.

Authorities highlight that people need to be aware of the situation and be ready to help decrease the threat to lives and property, as conditions are forecast to stay serious through Sunday.