Newsom: California Nat’l Guard fire crews understaffed; Trump deployment blamed

California Gov. Gavin Newsom said Tuesday that the state’s National Guard (CalGuard) firefighting crews are operating at just 40% due to President Trump’s “illegal” deployment to Los Angeles.

“With peak fire season well underway across California, we need all available resources to protect communities,” Newsom stated in a news release issued by the Governor’s Office.

The news release states that eight of 14 critical firefighting crews have been diverted to Los Angeles, reducing the available crews to six.

“President Trump: rescind your illegal order and get the Guard back to the critical firefighting and prevention work that actually keeps communities safe,” Newsom said.

The Trump administration has blamed California leadership, including Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, for the deployment by allegedly encouraging demonstrations against the implementation of federal immigration policies.

“What happened here was a tragedy. You had people who were doing the simple job of enforcing the law, and they had rioters egged on by the Governor and the Mayor, making it harder to do their job. That is disgraceful, and it is why the President has responded so forcefully,” Vice President JD said on Friday in Los Angeles.

Mayor Bass immediately condemned Vance’s comments.

In addition to the National Guard impact, the Governor’s Office says recent cuts to the U.S. Forest Service also threaten the safety of communities across the state

“The U.S. Forest Service has lost 10% of all positions and 25% of positions outside of direct wildfire response – both of which are likely to impact wildfire response this year,” the news release reads.

Despite these obstacles, the Governor’s Office says the state “stands ready to protect communities.”