National Guard Requests 200 Deployed Troops in LA to Help with Wildfire Duty

U.S. Northern Command head General Gregory Guillot submitted a request to U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth on Monday to allow 200 of the 4,000 federalized California National Guard troops on anti-ICE protest and riot duty to return to their state duties to help battle the growing number of wildfires in California.

Currently, around 4,000 California National Guard troops and 800 U.S. Marines are in Los Angeles to help keep the peace following large anti-ICE protests in the city earlier this month. While the armed servicemembers were expected to stay in the city through at least the July 4th weekend, a growing number of wildfires in the state over the past week has slightly altered plans. With the Juniper Fire, Wolf Fire, Cable Fire, and others growing across the state, many National Guard troops are being recalled to help with the blazes doing everything from being on the front lines, helping evacuate people, or directing traffic away from fire-stricken areas.

This led to Monday when General Guillot requested that 200 of the currently deployed National Guard forces be returned to wildfire fighting duty. Specifically, the General wants the troops back to Joint Task Force Rattlesnake, which is Cal Guard’s wildfire unit.

While anti-ICE protests have all but died off, and L.A. no longer having a curfew in effect, many police departments and other law enforcement groups are expecting a resurgence of protests over the upcoming July 4th holiday. Already, many events have been cancelled largely because of immigration enforcement concerns. Protestors also are shifting away from mass protests, and instead are trying more rapid response “flash” protests that can dissipate quickly to ensure no police or ICE action.

With the possible need for troops being up in the air, Hegseth has yet to give a yes or no to the request as of Monday evening. However, unlike the protests earlier this month, law enforcement in Southern California is more prepared for a response this time, and still have nearly all of the deployed troops as backup. Instead of being an independent security team, the soldiers act as support for federal agencies involved. While first activated in early June, the soldiers needed to complete training on de-escalation, crowd control, and use of the standing rules for the use of force in advance of joining the federal protection mission and helping federal agencies there including ICE, as well as other National Guardsmen and Marines currently deployed. While the first troops arrived only a few days following the start of the riots, the last of the current troops being deployed only got there less than two weeks ago.

Officials have also confirmed that military deployment will stay within Los Angeles, as while there are no “invasion of migrants”, help is still needed just in case of another early June style of protest.

“I don’t see any foreign, state-sponsored folks invading, but I’ll be mindful of the fact that there have been some border issues,” explained Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine.

The decision of returning the 200 troops back to wildfire duty is expected to be decided soon by the Department of Defense.