Yesterday, President George W. Bush flew in from Washington D.C. to personally inspect the damage caused by the forest fires here in Southern California. The President walked through a San Diego county neighborhood after a half hour flight in in a helicopter with California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger where they inspected the damage from the air. On Tuesday, President Bush declared seven counties disaster areas, allowing federal funds to be released to aid in the recovery effort. I must say it was very reassuring to have President Bush out here checking out things and I definitely want to applaud him for the speedy efforts made to make sure federal relief was made available so quickly.
To date nearly 2,000 homes have been destroyed by 23 separate wildfires this week. Damage estimates are now well in excess of one billion dollars. The winds have died down here, allowing 13 of the fires to be put out. As of tonight, 10 of the fires are still burning, and with temperatures expected to rise some over the weekend, there is a sense of urgency to get control of the remaining fires.
Those that have been affected by the wildfires this week can either go to the website www.fema.org or call 1-800-621-FEMA.
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On a personal note, I'm happy to report that my friends Carla & Will Givens (and their cats) are just fine. They live down in San Diego and had to evacuate Monday night. They were able to return home Tuesday... I just heard back from them today, putting me a little more at ease.
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