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
-
-
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)
-
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.
More From U.S.
Best-selling author Mitch Albom on his first nonfiction work since "Tuesdays with Morrie."
- 1
- 2
- 3
- next
See all 56 Commentsom where all Men can find real dream parteners with photos,... who enjoying
chatting sports and stars...
''He told us that big government doesn''t work.
So we hired him... and he proved it to us!''
(more vacation time than any President in history)
LEAVE BUSH ALONE!
Posted by valentin73
Whaaaahhhh, I wish Bush would leave me alone!
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!
He''s an arsonist.
Arrest him and throw him in jail!!!!!
Get a clue, sin is sin. The only difference is homosexuals want everyone to accept it"
Who''s whining now?
Bu$h - what a waste of air.
Bu$h $upporters - ''nuff said...
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 MeanBiker at 09:17 AM : Jul 18, 2008
Your comment made me burst out laughing. It''s so very true!
A Western Belt with Pleated Pants?
Not in Texas....Texans wear Levi''s or Wranglers LOL
Mabey the pleated trousers were to impress Arnold.
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.
LEAVE BUSH ALONE!
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.
-He peeeeeeed a long shot!
- 1
- 2
- 3
- next
See all 56 Comments