AlQa'dah 03, 1436, August 18, 2015, SPA -- US fire authorities Monday called up active duty soldiers to help battle more than 4,000 square kilometers of wildfires burning in California and other western states, dpa reported. The Pentagon said it would provide 200 active duty soldiers to help with a fire in Washington state, according to news reports. It is the first time since 2006 the National Interagency Fire Centre (NIFC) has called on the US military to send soldiers to help fight fires. About 440 California National Guard soldiers and airmen also have been activated to help the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection fight fires throughout the state, Pentagon spokesman Navy Captain Jeff Davis said. Local firefighting agencies have been stretched to the limit by one of the worst summer wildfire seasons in memory. Wildfires have burned more than 28,000 square kilometers in the United States in 2015, the most to this date in at least a decade.
