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U.S. NEWS Thursday 21 March 2019

National Guard to help protect California towns from fires

By DON THOMPSON The training is similar for fire- embers on the Sierra Ne-
Associated Press fighting and fire protection. vada foothills community
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) Mohler said the troops also of Paradise last year, killing
— California is calling in the will receive some training 85 people in and around
National Guard for the first in forest management, “so the Northern California city
time next month to help they’re not just out there of 27,000 people.
protect communities from cutting brush” but under- “CalFire is taking the Trump
devastating fires like the stand why they’re doing approach, logging the for-
one that largely destroyed what they’re doing. est and weakening critical
the city of Paradise last fall. For instance, firefighting environmental protections,
It’s pulling the troops away crews generally cut fire lines and that’s the exact oppo-
from President Donald down to mineral earth dur- site of what we need to be
Trump’s border protection ing active wildfires, while doing,” Center for Biologi-
efforts and devoting them fuels management crews cal Diversity scientist Shaye
to fire protection, anoth- often do less-intensive thin- Wolf said. She said the bet-
er area where Trump has ning of trees and chaparral ter approach is to make
been critical of California’s In this June 12, 2018 file photo, firefighters clear burned and to slow advancing flames. homes more fire resistant
Democratic officials — unburned brush from a hillside above Portola Drive after a That often involves creat- while pruning vegetation
even repeatedly threaten- wildfire broke out in the Benedict Canyon area of Los Angeles. ing fuel breaks. They can immediately surrounding
ing to cut off federal disas- Associated Press range from stripping away homes. CalFire this month
ter funding. clearing or reducing trees Schwarzenegger was the all woody vegetation on listed 35 fuel-reduction
Starting next week, 110 and vegetation in an effort first in recent decades to wide strips of land to thin- projects it wants to start im-
California National Guard to deprive flames of fuel. deploy California National ning larger trees and re- mediately, covering more
troops will receive 11 days “They will be boots on the Guard troops as firefighters. moving shorter trees, brush than 140 square miles (362
of training in using shovels, ground doing fuels projects That occurred on July 4, and debris to discourage square kilometers) — dou-
rakes and chain saws to alongside CalFire crews,” 2008, after lightning storms fires from climbing into tree- ble the acreage in previ-
help thin trees and brush, Mohler said. “We’ve had sparked hundreds of fires, tops and jumping from tree ous years. But state officials
California Department of them out for flood fighting, Guard Lt. Col. Jonathan to tree. Critics say the work estimate 23,438 square
Forestry and Fire Protection several different opera- Shiroma said. damages forests and can miles (60,704 square kilo-
spokesman Mike Mohler tions, but this would be the While many of the troops be useless against wind- meters) of California forest-
said. first time their mission would are being reassigned from driven fires, like the one land need thinning or other
They will be divided into be fuels thinning and forest the border this time, the that jumped a river to rain restoration.q
five teams that will travel management.” Guard also is asking other
around the state starting in They have helped fight fires service members if they
April to work on forest man- before, however. want to participate, Shiro-
agement projects, mainly Former Gov. Arnold ma said.

Judge: Tootsie Mini Pops packaging

too similar to Dum Dums’

TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) — A federal judge is sid- Tootsie Roll has disputed Spangler’s claims.
ing with the makers of Dum Dums lollipops A message seeking comment was left
in its lawsuit against a rival candy maker. Wednesday with Tootsie Roll.
Ohio-based Spangler Candy Co. is suing The judge said in a decision issued last
Tootsie Roll Industries because it says the week that the Tootsie Roll is using pack-
Chicago-based company’s new Charms aging nearly identical to the Dum Dums
Mini Pops packaging too closely resem- packaging, right down to a red bag with
bles the Dum Dums packaging. white lettering.
A preliminary injunction handed down in The Blade reports Spangler believes the
Ohio says Tootsie Roll must at least tempo- packaging is so similar that customers
rarily stop using its packaging for Mini Pops. would easily confuse the two products.q