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Gov. Schwarzenegger Directs Coordinated State Efforts to Fight Southern California Fires

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has coordinated state efforts with the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE), the Governor's Office of Emergency Services (OES) and the California National Guard (CNG) to make all state resources available to better fight the fires in Southern California.

"My administration is working closely with federal and local officials and will continue to assess what is needed to fight the fires in Southern California. Make no mistake about it: we will mobilize every resource necessary to protect lives and property affected by this disaster," said Governor Schwarzenegger. 

"Through working with these state agencies, we have been able to provide more personnel and equipment to fight the fires and to activate 21 local operations centers in the state.  I continue to be briefed by state officials and am confident that all resources are being utilized at all levels of government to fight these fires.

"I commend those individuals who have acted quickly to evacuate from dangerous areas and urge everyone to continue to follow the directions and evacuation orders issued by emergency personnel."

Governor Schwarzenegger has directed the following through OES, CAL FIRE and CNG to fight the devastating fires in Southern California:

CAL FIRE has deployed the following fire and rescue resources and activated the following personnel:

·        1,790 CAL FIRE personnel

·        320 individuals not assigned to equipment

·        316 fire engines

·        47 crews

·        19 air tankers

·        15 bulldozers

·        8 helicopters

·        2 mobile communications centers

·        1 mobile kitchen unit

·        Approximately 100 personnel at the 2 regional CAL FIRE centers located in Riverside and Redding.

·        10 personnel working at the State Operations Center in Mather.

·        And multiple personnel at each of the 21 local operations centers statewide.

OES has deployed the following fire and rescue resources and activated the following personnel:

·        329 local government engines

·        102 fire engines

·        24 local water tenders

·        11 OES Chief Officers

·        7 National Guard helicopters

·        2 support/communication equipment units

·        1 OES fire mechanic

·        100 personnel working at the State Operations Center and 15 personnel working in the Joint Information Center. Both facilities are located in Mather, California.

·        30 personnel working at the Regional Operations Center, located at CNG's Joint Forces facility in Los Alamitos, California.

Governor Schwarzenegger earlier today directed CNG to make 1500 guardsmen available to support the firefighting efforts. The Governor also requested four CNG helicopters through OES.  The four aircraft are currently on stand-by at Mather Air Field (1 Firehawk) and Los Alamitos Joint Forces Training Base (3 UH-60 Blackhawks). The UH-60 Blackhawk and the Firehawk are capable of fire suppression missions as well as personnel transport in and out of dangerous and hard to reach locations.

For media information on the coordinated state effort to contain the Southern California wildfires please contact the State Joint Information Center at 916-845-8441 which is open 24 hours. 

Governor Schwarzenegger last night proclaimed a State of Emergency in the counties of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, Santa Barbara and Ventura due to more than eleven major wildfires to make more resources available to fight the fires.