Congressman Duncan Hunter says there are four Marine helicopters on the ground at MCAS Miramar equipped with buckets that are ready to help fight the San Diego County wildfires but they are waiting on Cal Fire officials who say the choppers cannot fly without a Cal Fire crew member called a spotter on board.
Hunter says the Marine crew chiefs have plenty of expertise and could fly at a moment's notice but are grounded until they work it out with Cal Fire.
Hunter also said there are six National Guard C-130s retardant-dropping airplanes headed to Point Mugu from Wyoming, Colorado and North Carolina that should arrive around 2:30 p.m.
He said he is working with firefighting leaders in the state to insure that some -- if not all -- of those planes are dedicated to San Diego.
Hunter : They will come to San Diego, I'll make sure of it.
