REDDING, Calif., July 17, 2008
Bush Visits California Wildfire Sites
President Gets First-Hand Look At Destruction Wrought By Largest Fire Event In State History
-
-
Photo
President Bush, center, walks with Calif. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, R-Calif., left, and Redding Mayor Mary Stegall, right, to a briefing on the California wildfires Thursday, July 17, 2008 in Redding, Calif. (AP)
-
Photo
Ellie Bell wipes her brow as she looks through the remnants of her home that burned to the ground on July 11, 2008 in Concow, Calif. Bell had lived in the home for eight years after she and her husband retired. Her husband died last year. (AP PHOTO)
-
-
Play CBS Video
Video
Calif. Fires Show No Relief
Little relief is in sight for firefighters battling blazes throughout the Golden State. Teri Okita reports on California's long, dry fire season.
-
Photo Essay
Lightning Sparks Calif. Fires
"Unprecedented" lightning storm touches off more than 800 wildfires across northern California.
-
Interactive
Wildfires
Photo essays, the worst U.S. fires, facts on fire science and health issues.
Since a huge lightning storm on June 21, about 2,010 separate fires have ignited across California, ravaging nearly 900,000 acres. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency in 12 counties affected by the wildfires and has called in the California National Guard to help.
"The weather is stable - steady hot and dry inland," said Jason Kirchner, spokesman for the U.S. Forest Service. "Our folks are grinding away on these fires, making progress, but it's coming slow and it's a lot of work."
In Redding, in the northwest corner of the state, Bush was being briefed on the fires and meeting with a few dozen first responders and state and local officials. Afterward, the president and Schwarzenegger were taking an aerial tour to survey fire damage in the 2.1 million-acre Shasta-Trinity National Forest, the largest in California.
Later, Bush was flying south to speak at a political reception in Napa, north of San Francisco, that's raising about $850,000 for the Republican National Committee.
Briefing reporters aboard Air Force One during the flight from Washington, David Paulison, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said a myriad of federal agencies have been participating in daily, one-hour video conferences with California officials to identify ways for the federal government to help the state.
He said a unified command system that FEMA put in place after the ineffective and sluggish federal response to Hurricane Katrina started working well last year and has helped provide timely federal help to California.
"It's been tough for the residents, I understand that," Paulison said. "But I have to tell you, the firefighting coordination, considering the size of this event, has been some of the best I've seen. I'm very proud of what's happened."
More than 25,000 firefighters have arrived from 41 states plus Canada, Greece, Australia, New Zealand and Mexico, he said. So far, FEMA has obligated more than $154 million to California to pay for firefighting, evacuations, shelter, traffic control, equipment and supplies, Paulison said. Nearly 150 helicopters and more than 1,000 fire engines are involved.
About 200 injuries, including deep burns, have been reported. The only firefighter death so far has been attributed to a heart attack, said Daniel Berlant, a state fire department spokesman.
A man whose body was found Friday in a burned-out house in rural Butte County was identified as a 61-year-old who didn't heed evacuation requests.
Three men and a teenager trapped by flames in a Northern California forest were rescued on a closed road by fire crews Wednesday and treated for burns, authorities said.
Meanwhile, controlled burns designed to clear brush from the hills skirting the Big Sur coast were going well, officials said.
Mandatory evacuation orders remained in place Thursday for about 20 homes along the heavily wooded ridges near Carmel Valley, said Ruby Urueta, spokeswoman with the Monterey County Emergency Operations Center. Another 200 houses were emptied in the nearby rural community of Cachagua because of the fire danger.
The complex of fires in Butte County is 80 percent contained after burning through 84 square miles and destroying dozens of homes.
The number of casualties are much lower than in previous disasters in California, including the series of fires in October 2003 that left 24 people dead and destroyed thousands of homes.
© MMVIII The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Video and Galleries from U.S.
-
Video
Hole in Plane Forces Landing
-
Video
Little Girl, Big Heart
-
Video
Obama Ratings Drop
- 1
- 2
- next
See all 56 CommentsSchwarzenegger''s miffed at the Prez''s lack of movement on Global Warming, so the Prez better watch out. I''ve seen Schwarzenegger throw people out of helicopters.
Why?
Financial markets and U.S. legislators alike have derided U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson''''s plan to bail out the mortgage lenders. One of the two key elements is illogical, while the second is plain outrageous.
Just last week, Fannie Mae said it ``has access to ample sources of liquidity, including access to the debt markets.'''''''' Freddie Mac said it was ``adequately capitalized, highly liquid and an essential part of the nation''''s housing system.'''''''' Either they are being economical with the truth, or the decision to let them borrow from the Federal Reserve''''s discount facility is window-dressing that serves no real purpose.
Defending the Indefensible
Worse is the scheme to allow Paulson to dip into the nation''''s tax revenue to purchase shares in Fannie and Freddie -- shares that investors have already deemed to be almost worthless. If the mortgage lenders can''''t survive in their current form, the government shouldn''''t be defending the indefensible.
In April, Standard & Poor''''s said the risk that the U.S. would have to prop up its so-called Government Sponsored Enterprises posed a bigger threat to the country''''s AAA rating than its willingness to underwrite securities firms.
Very good!
We all know now he lied to bring this nation into war and all we write about is his "humanitarian" concerns regarding wildfires or flooding.
He killed 10''s of thousands of human beings.
Humanitarian? You decide.
He needs to be brought to justice
Why?
--------------------------
Posted by navpro at 01:16 PM : Jul 17, 2008
January is coming up... he needs to get as many photo-ops asap.
--------------------------
Posted by ubrew12 at 11:58 AM : Jul 17, 2008
I thought about Arnie''s movie, Commando (Greatest. Movie. Ever.) and this quote he spoke while hanging a guy over the cliff:
"Loyalty isn''t the most important thing. The most important thing is gravity!"
Is he still in this country ?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Posted by jlagat
This would be for the presidential library in Bushes honor to built in Crawford Texas, Right?
Otherwise its just a waste of a photo op.
It is expected that the Great Emperor will make the usual promises that he always has made to people who have been the victims of events beyond their control. It is also expected that the Great Emperor will NOT deliver on any one of the promises he makes!
After all, the Great Emperor is not too happy with Arnold "The Terminator" Schwarzenegger lately, especially his remarks regarding the Great Emperor''s lack of credibility when it comes to offshore drilling which were made on 60 Minutes last weekend. Suspecting that the Arnold''s Kennedy-clan wife may have influenced him "too much" in caring for people instead of for the profits of corporate America, the Great Emperor plans on making his visit as brief as possible so he can spend more time at the neocon Fascist Nazi fundraiser in Napa, where he can confound the neocons with his puzzled looks, and his speech consisting primarily of "UM, UH, UM, UH, UM, UH!".
Remember, the Great Emperor is 62 years old and his mind isn''t the "steel trap" it had been before, if it ever was!!!!
SIG HEIL, BUSH!!!!!
sig heil, ABSOLUTELY MORE OF THE SAME, McCain!!!!
Calif residents: "Oh no! It''s already a disaster area! Why does he want to make it worse?!?"
Is he still in this country ?
Posted by IOWEIGN at 02:19 PM : Jul 17, 2008
No. He went "home" - to the UAE where Haliburton moved to.
Otherwise its just a waste of a photo op.
Posted by navpro at 02:40 PM : Jul 17, 2008
If Bush is in the picture, it''s a waste of a photo op.
Is he still in this country? Posted by IOWEIGN
He is fully CLOAKED again. He only DE-CLOAKS long enough to operate the shredder late at night.
(applaud)
(applaud)
Posted by nsSherlock1 at 04:28 PM
Thank you, but I''m afraid I won''t be on this board much longer. CBS is about to shut me down again, (third time) It was fun. Thanks everybody.
#####
George, if you think those wildfires are hot, you haven''t seen anything yet...
GOD - I hate stupid tourists.
God? Is that you?
-So California, still want gaay marriages to be legal?
Posted by BlindLibs
The moon is made of green cheese, the world is flat, and God catches some of the most beautiful forest in the world on fire to punish gaays who want to marry each other.
I''ve been backpacking in this country. Absolutely beautiful. However, in the late 1800''s, a bunch of ranchers killed every Indian in the area: men, women, and children. A genocidal massacre (settlers did something similar in Southern Oregon and, of course, Tanzania is the classic example). If God were to punish the region, perhaps it was for this rather than the prospect of two people who love each other exchanging vows. But, maybe I don''t know God as you do.
When Obama stated that he would do so, McCain lambasted him.
The fact that McCain is silent on Bush''s overtures proves that McCain is pure partisan, nothing more, nothing less.
Well, he probably was waiting for it to die down a little, so it wouldn''t overshadow his ''fire''! Or,
He thought it might be a little to conspicuous if he showed up surrounded by flames! Or,
He didn''t want to remind people that where he travels around the USA, he has been preceeded by disaster! Or,
He didn''t want to be accused of caring! Or,
He has a bet with Cheney on how long it will take before most of California''s trees are gone, and he didn''t want to arrive too soon before his bet date!
Or, He knew all these pesky western governors would do nothing but panhandle for disaster relief funds! Or,
He just enjoys being ''fashionably late'' for natural disasters---the later, the better! :)
-He peeeeeeed a long shot!
The least he could have done was to have taken his chain saw with him so he could clear some brush, which is reported to be one of his favorite pastimes.
January 20 can''t come too soon.
LEAVE BUSH ALONE!
Do you know what happened this week back in 1850, 158 years ago?
1. California became a state.
2. The state had no electricity.
3. The state had no money.
4. Almost everyone spoke Spanish.
5. There were gunfights in the streets.
So basically, it was just like California is today, except the women had real **** and the men didn''t hold hands.
A Western Belt with Pleated Pants?
Not in Texas....Texans wear Levi''s or Wranglers LOL
Mabey the pleated trousers were to impress Arnold.
Posted by MeanBiker at 09:17 AM : Jul 18, 2008
Your comment made me burst out laughing. It''s so very true!
LEAVE BUSH ALONE!
Posted by valentin73 at 09:08 AM : Jul 18, 2008
Right you are. Whenever there are problems, people tend to blame whoever is in charge of the country, whether or not the issues have anything to do with him or not. Just because Bush is unpopular and not exactly the best president we''ve ever had doesn''t mean we need to belittle him constantly. It''s the toughest job in the world, after all.
Bush will be gone soon enough and all you whiners that go with the flow can whin about someone else.
Posted by onlythereal at 07:18 AM : Jul 18, 2008
Exactly right. And personally, I hate whiners. .
Bu$h - what a waste of air.
Bu$h $upporters - ''nuff said...
Get a clue, sin is sin. The only difference is homosexuals want everyone to accept it"
Who''s whining now?
He''s an arsonist.
Arrest him and throw him in jail!!!!!
LEAVE BUSH ALONE!
Posted by valentin73 at 09:08 AM : Jul 18, 2008
Right you are. Whenever there are problems, people tend to blame whoever is in charge of the country, whether or not the issues have anything to do with him or not. Just because Bush is unpopular and not exactly the best president we''''ve ever had doesn''''t mean we need to belittle him constantly. It''''s the toughest job in the world, after all.
Bush will be gone soon enough and all you whiners that go with the flow can whin about someone else.
Posted by onlythereal at 07:18 AM : Jul 18, 2008
Exactly right. And personally, I hate whiners. .
Posted by nordeck52 at 01:04 PM : Jul 18, 2008
THEN STOP BRING UP CLINTON AT EVERY TURN!!!!
You people make me laugh, you are fuquing STUPID!
- 1
- 2
- next
See all 56 Comments