HONOLULU — Hawai'i and California National Guard troops are joining Big Island police and fire units for a week of training and exercises to deal with a terrorist attack or a major hazardous material release.

This week's effort is designed to help the personnel respond to an act of terrorism involving chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear weapons, officials said.

The training, coordinated by the Center for Asymmetric Warfare in Point Mugu, Calif., is focusing on dealing with such devices in a maritime environment, so training on Wednesday and Thursday will be centered on a ship at Hilo Harbor.

The public can expect to see a large number of military, police and fire personnel at a command post and staging area set up in a parking area at the former Orchid Island Hotel site on Banyan Drive.

Although some of the personnel will be wearing bulbous and helmeted hazardous material suits, officials said the public should be aware that nothing bad is actually occurring in their community. Nor is it expected to happen.

The findings of an after-action meeting on Friday will be used to determine the focus of future training.

The guardsmen and women from Hawai'i's 93rd Civil Support Team and California's 9th Civil Support Team will join forces again next April on Oahu for an even larger maritime-based exercise. It will include local, state and federal agencies, as well as personnel from Alaska and Guam.

Although based on Oahu, the 93rd CST has been deployed to the Big Island in recent months in support of the response to the eruption of Kilauea volcano. As part of "Task Force Kilauea," Guard personnel have monitored gases and particulate matter emanating from the volcano.