California is pulling the National Guard from the border to help protect against wildfires. They will help clear away trees and brush in forests.
FILE - In this Jan. 17, 20014 file photo, firefighters clear brush as they battle the Colby Fire near Azusa, Calif. California is calling in the National Guard for the first time to help protect communities from wildfires like the one that destroyed much of the city of Paradise last fall.
Starting in April, 110 California National Guard troops will receive 11 days of training in using shovels, rakes and chain saws to help thin trees and brush, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection spokesman Mike Mohler said. 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.
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 Sierra Nevada foothills community of Paradise last year, killing 85 people in and around the Northern California city of 27,000 people. CalFire this month listed 35 fuel-reduction projects it wants to start immediately, covering more than 140 square miles — double the acreage in previous years. But state officials estimate 23,438 square miles of California forestland need thinning or other restoration.Such thinning operations are getting more attention in recent years, with the U.S. Forest Service estimating last month that 18 million trees died in California over the last year.
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