By late Wednesday teams from the California National Guard's 129th Rescue Wing had headed to the Rim fire to help with fire suppression.
The following is an overview of the National Guards firefighting efforts from the National Interagency Fire Center:
Since 1975, the US Department of Agriculture and
Department of the Interior have had an interagency agreement with the
Department of Defense (DOD) which allows DOD to provide firefighting
support to the wildland fire management agencies when needed.
The
US military is normally requested when national civilian resources are
committed to fires and there is the need for further resources. The
decision to request military support rests with the National
Multi-Agency Coordinating (NMAC) Group at the National Interagency Fire
Center (NIFC). As needed, the military will send a liaison officer to
NIFC who coordinates closely with the National Interagency Coordination
Center (NICC). NICC coordinates and tracks national firefighting
requirements and plays a key role in the mobilization of military
resources. The US military may provide aerial and/or ground resources.
The military also supports firefighting efforts
through the Modular Airborne Firefighting System (MAFFS) program. This
program provides Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve units flying
in military C-130 aircraft equipped as airtankers to support wildland
fire suppression activities. Aircrews get annual training and are
certified by NIFC.
Military
resources for ground firefighting are normally requested in battalion
strength, which is equivalent to 25 20-person crews and their command
and control elements. Each battalion fields about 550 personnel.
