Trump’s Troop Deployment Drains Key Wildfire Force, Newsom Says

President Donald Trump’s deployment of thousands of National Guard troops in Los Angeles has depleted a key wildfire-fighting force as California heads into its most dangerous season for blazes, Governor Gavin Newsom said.

More than half of the 300 California National Guard members who work with the state’s firefighting agency are currently diverted from wildfire efforts to Los Angeles, Newsom said in a statement Tuesday. Trump has sent the military to the second-largest US city to secure federal buildings and protect immigration authorities after deportation raids spurred protests.

The drawdown of firefighting forces is occurring months after a pair of ...