Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator Dean Criswell said Sunday that U.S. troops are ready to deploy to help extinguish wildfires ravaging Los Angeles.
“We have active-duty soldiers who have received ‘ready to deploy’ orders and are ready to deploy and continue to support suppression efforts,” Criswell said in an interview on ABC’s “This Week.” “The incident commanders at each command post will know exactly what they need. And if they need something else, we can come and support them.”
According to the Department of Defense, this includes 500 active-duty Marines and 10 Navy helicopters.
Asked why the state hasn’t yet requested military assistance, Criswell said he would leave that up to incident commanders who “know what’s needed and where to put people.”
“And often in these situations, it’s very strategic – you don’t always have to bring in more people,” she added. “We have to make sure it’s safe. And, as you know, there can only be so many aircraft in space. So they’ll have specific information about the strategies they’re using, but we want to make sure we’re not late when we need to be.” “If you need anything, you can move in.”
Criswell said his “biggest concern” is that Los Angeles is “still in a dangerous situation” with wildfires continuing.
“The red flag is back in effect. The wind is blowing again. And we still want to make sure people are in a safe place,” she said in a separate interview on ABC’s “This Week with George Stephanopoulos.”
“I know it’s difficult for a lot of people because they want to get back in, they want to see the house, they want to make sure there’s anything left,” Criswell continued. “But these life safety devices are not only for them, but for our firefighters as well, making sure they don’t get hurt is the most important part of them as they try to continue to put out these fires.”
Wind is the biggest concern. California Governor Gavin Newsom said strong wind gusts in the next 48 hours could further spread the fire.
“The challenge is the wind. It’s blowing again this evening, Sunday night. It’s peaking on Monday. We’re expecting gusts over 50 miles per hour. That could change,” Newsom said Sunday in Altadena. He told “Meet the Press.” “So now we’re pre-positioning assets. And not only are we pre-positioning more than the five existing fires here in the theater, but we’re now expanding that to several other counties and moving further south with some. We’re “I expect to see explosive development in new places and new beginnings.”
“These winds change the dynamics of these fires, so I’m concerned about the safety of our firefighters and our ability to continue to fight these fires. I want to make sure people are listening carefully to their local officials,” FEMA’s Criswell said. “We’re saying they can stay safe and stay out of harm’s way,” he said Sunday on “Nation with Margaret Brennan.”
When asked why officials were unprepared to deal with the fire, Criswell told Brennan, “They were very prepared.” But “they’ve never seen 100-mile-per-hour winds fanning a fire. Those winds and weather conditions are the problem.” “It really affects where these fires will go.”
“And because it was in a densely populated area, it made it a lot more difficult to get in there and secure the perimeter, while also trying to get as many homes as possible,” Criswell added.
Criswell also warned affected Los Angeles residents not to return home.
“I know a lot of people are probably going to want to go back to that area and check out their homes, but with the winds coming back, we’ll have no idea which way they’re going to go,” she said on CNN on Sunday. “State of the Union.”
As of Sunday morning, the Eaton Fire was 27 percent contained, NBC News reported, citing data from the U.S. Forest Service’s Angeles National Forest Branch. The Palisades fire remains 11% contained, according to Cal Fire.
— CNBC’s Yun Li contributed reporting.
