A U.S. Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter assigned to the 1st Battalion, 140th Aviation Regiment, California Army National Guard conducts annual helicopter bucket training at Irvine Lake, Calif., April 5, 2014, to prepare for wildfire season

The U.S. Department of Defense’s Northern Command issued a press release yesterday announcing its continued assistance to support firefighting efforts in California. This is in addition to the on-going efforts by DOD and the National Guard throughout the summer. The press releases noted the following:

PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo., Sept. 22, 2014 – Two Department of Defense C-130 aircraft equipped with U.S. Forest Service Modular Airborne Fire Fighting Systems and under the command and control of U.S. Northern Command will be assisting with wildfire suppression efforts in California and the Northwest Geographic Area at the request of the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho, Northcom officials said in a news release issued yesterday.

The full release can be found here.

Wildfires in California, floods in Kashmir, and drought in Brazil, are just a small sample of the natural disasters adding stress to communities, emergency responders and governments around world. And if climate change projections are borne out, such events will become more frequent and more severe.

On the other side of the country, world leaders have gathered to discuss commitments to fight climate change at the UN Climate Summit. But if speeches, marches and commitments from fossil fuel industries do not convince policy-makers to act, perhaps the seriousness with which the U.S. Department of Defense is addressing the issue will.