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‘Ready To Answer The Call For Help’: Texas Governor Sending Firefighters, Fire Trucks To California

   DailyWire.com
A law enforcement officer guides evacuees down a road surrounded by fire at the Bear fire in Oroville, California on September 9, 2020. - Dangerous dry winds whipped up California's record-breaking wildfires and ignited new blazes, as hundreds were evacuated by helicopter and tens of thousands were plunged into darkness by power outages across the western United States.
JOSH EDELSON/AFP via Getty Images

Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) announced on Friday that he will send additional firefighters to California as the West Coast state battles an onslaught of wildfires that have threatened thousands of residents and diminished air quality across the state.

“Texas is ready to answer the call for help when disaster strikes — whether it’s here in the Lone Star State or across the country,” said Governor Abbott in a Friday statement. “I thank the brave men and women serving in our fire departments across Texas for stepping up to help Californians in need as these fires continue to burn. I ask all Texans to join me and Cecilia in prayer for the courageous firefighters battling these wildfires, as well as those who have been affected by this disaster.”

Under the Texas governor’s orders, California will receive 190 firefighters, 50 firetrucks, and ten command vehicles, in addition to the 44 firefighters, ten firetrucks, and two command vehicles the Lone Star State sent over in August, according to the statement. The fire-fighting resources were dispatched from over 50 different fire departments across the state.

California state Senator Shannon Grove, who is the leader of the Republican caucus, reacted to the assistance from Texas, tweeting: “It’s a good thing other states don’t hold a grudge like CA’s Democrat leadership seems to. Texas is helping in our time of need by supplying 190 firefighters, 50 fire trucks & 10 command vehicles EVEN THOUGH CA has a travel ban for state workers to TX.”

According to The Los Angeles Times, the wildfires have caused the air quality to severely diminish across the state, particularly in the Bay Area and in Central California. The Southern California region, which is also experiencing fires, has been having air quality problems as well.

“Throughout Southern California, everybody is experiencing this,” Philip Fine, an executive officer for the South Coast Air Quality Management District, told the news agency. “It looks like it’s overcast, but a lot of that is smoke from the Northern California and Oregon wildfires. They have created a plume up and down the West coast that’s over a thousand miles wide.”

Kristine Roselius, a spokesperson for the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, told The San Francisco Chronicle that the general area has been experiencing “certainly the longest unhealthy air quality we’ve seen.”

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