The U.S. Army is set to deploy 200 active-duty soldiers to fight the deadly California wildfires after President Donald Trump declared the wildfires a “major disaster” on Sunday.
Approximately 200 soldiers from the 7th Infantry Division’s 14th Brigade Engineer Battalion located in the Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington will deploy to California throughout the week to fight the deadly wildfires that have killed at least nine people thus far, according to Fox News. The troops will deploy after continuing to train fighting fires on base.
The unit, mostly combat engineers, who focus on demolition and construction, will be placed in Air Force C-130 cargo planes and will fly over the fires, dumping liquid, which helps extinguish the fires. (RELATED: A Flat Tire Started Deadly California Fire)
Trump tweeted about the wildfires Sunday, saying they have been made worse by “bad environmental laws.”
California wildfires are being magnified & made so much worse by the bad environmental laws which aren’t allowing massive amount of readily available water to be properly utilized. It is being diverted into the Pacific Ocean. Must also tree clear to stop fire spreading!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 5, 2018
The Carr Fire in Northern California was reportedly started by a flat tire after the rim scraped against asphalt on July 23, which caused sparks to ignite a fire.
Since, the fire has been recorded as the sixth most destructive fire in the state. Only 39 percent of the fire was contained as of Friday.
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