thedrifter
10-25-07, 07:39 PM
Bush lands at Miramar en route to fires
By Ben Feller - The Associated Press
Posted : Thursday Oct 25, 2007 17:17:14 EDT
SAN DIEGO — President Bush dismissed comparisons between the federal response to Hurricane Katrina and the California wildfires Thursday, saying that getting help to people who are hurting is the most important thing.
“There’s all kinds of time for historians to compare this response to that response,” Bush said during a tour of the state’s fire-ravaged communities.
The president walked down a street of the hard hit community of Rancho Bernardo, where homes have been burned to rubble, at one point offering comfort to Jay and Kendra Jeffcoat, standing near where a single spiral staircase rested amid rubble that used to be their home and near their burnt-out car melted into the scorched earth.
“For those of us here in government, our hearts are right here with the Jeffcoats,” the president said, his armed draped around Mrs. Jeffcoat. Holding her small brown dog on a leash, she fought back tears.
Bush ferried several California lawmakers with him on Air Force One and was greeted on the tarmac at Marine Corps Air Station-Miramar here by his tour guide for the day, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger — and the smell of smoke.
On the White House’s South Lawn before the long flight, the president said he aimed to bring to weary Southern Californians the assurance of federal help, support for those who’ve lost home and businesses and thanks to weary firefighters.
He took at the start of a four-hour tour in a helicopter to get an aerial tour of the devastation. Masks and small, wet towels were distributed to the presidential entourage to help cope with the smoky conditions. A white film covered the sky and, as the choppers drew closer to San Diego, Bush saw homes that had been reduced to piles of sticks.
Bush then got a look at the situation on the ground.
In Rancho Bernardo, Bush strolled among Mediterranean-style homes, where houses that remained unscathed were interspersed with what amounted to mere shells of the American dream.
Stepping through rubble, he talked with the Jeffcoats about belongings they hoped to salvage. He shook hands at a makeshift disaster assistance center where government agencies and private companies are providing help to residents.
From there, the president’s motorcade passed charred hillsides on the way north to Escondido, where he was to assess that area’s damage, talk about recovery efforts and have lunch with emergency responders.
Amid all this pain were lingering memories of Washington’s slow response to Katrina over two years ago, and how it damaged Bush’s standing.
As the first natural disaster to begin to approach the scale of the Gulf Coast storm, the fires represented a tough test for the administration. Katrina, however, affected a far larger geographic area, knocked out all communications and nearly all key infrastructure, and impacted a relatively poorer population and much less-prepared states.
With the White House determined to convey a picture of a speedy and effective performance this time around, Bush was asked to compare the two.
“You better ask the governor how we’re doing,” he said, with Swarzenegger next to him on a cul de sac. “I will tell you this: In all of these responses, the thing that has amazed me most is the courage of the first responders.”
Schwarzenegger said Bush called him even before he could reach out to the president for help. “I call this quick action — quicker than I expected, I can tell you that,” the governor said.
Fran Townsend, Bush’s White House-based homeland security adviser, said the disaster response is unfolding “exactly the way it should be” and is “better and faster” that the administration’s performance after Katrina.
“This is not the end of federal assistance. It’s just the beginning,” she said.
Bush declared the fires a major disaster on Wednesday, setting in motion long-term federal recovery program.
The fires have destroyed about 2,200 structures since Sunday and led to the largest evacuation in California history. The flames have burned at least 431,000 acres across five counties, from Ventura in the north all the way into Mexico. Property damage has reached at least $1 billion in San Diego County alone.
A break in this week’s high, hot winds, and a helpful change in their direction, had officials hoping they could make progress Thursday against the still-threatening fires.
Ellie
By Ben Feller - The Associated Press
Posted : Thursday Oct 25, 2007 17:17:14 EDT
SAN DIEGO — President Bush dismissed comparisons between the federal response to Hurricane Katrina and the California wildfires Thursday, saying that getting help to people who are hurting is the most important thing.
“There’s all kinds of time for historians to compare this response to that response,” Bush said during a tour of the state’s fire-ravaged communities.
The president walked down a street of the hard hit community of Rancho Bernardo, where homes have been burned to rubble, at one point offering comfort to Jay and Kendra Jeffcoat, standing near where a single spiral staircase rested amid rubble that used to be their home and near their burnt-out car melted into the scorched earth.
“For those of us here in government, our hearts are right here with the Jeffcoats,” the president said, his armed draped around Mrs. Jeffcoat. Holding her small brown dog on a leash, she fought back tears.
Bush ferried several California lawmakers with him on Air Force One and was greeted on the tarmac at Marine Corps Air Station-Miramar here by his tour guide for the day, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger — and the smell of smoke.
On the White House’s South Lawn before the long flight, the president said he aimed to bring to weary Southern Californians the assurance of federal help, support for those who’ve lost home and businesses and thanks to weary firefighters.
He took at the start of a four-hour tour in a helicopter to get an aerial tour of the devastation. Masks and small, wet towels were distributed to the presidential entourage to help cope with the smoky conditions. A white film covered the sky and, as the choppers drew closer to San Diego, Bush saw homes that had been reduced to piles of sticks.
Bush then got a look at the situation on the ground.
In Rancho Bernardo, Bush strolled among Mediterranean-style homes, where houses that remained unscathed were interspersed with what amounted to mere shells of the American dream.
Stepping through rubble, he talked with the Jeffcoats about belongings they hoped to salvage. He shook hands at a makeshift disaster assistance center where government agencies and private companies are providing help to residents.
From there, the president’s motorcade passed charred hillsides on the way north to Escondido, where he was to assess that area’s damage, talk about recovery efforts and have lunch with emergency responders.
Amid all this pain were lingering memories of Washington’s slow response to Katrina over two years ago, and how it damaged Bush’s standing.
As the first natural disaster to begin to approach the scale of the Gulf Coast storm, the fires represented a tough test for the administration. Katrina, however, affected a far larger geographic area, knocked out all communications and nearly all key infrastructure, and impacted a relatively poorer population and much less-prepared states.
With the White House determined to convey a picture of a speedy and effective performance this time around, Bush was asked to compare the two.
“You better ask the governor how we’re doing,” he said, with Swarzenegger next to him on a cul de sac. “I will tell you this: In all of these responses, the thing that has amazed me most is the courage of the first responders.”
Schwarzenegger said Bush called him even before he could reach out to the president for help. “I call this quick action — quicker than I expected, I can tell you that,” the governor said.
Fran Townsend, Bush’s White House-based homeland security adviser, said the disaster response is unfolding “exactly the way it should be” and is “better and faster” that the administration’s performance after Katrina.
“This is not the end of federal assistance. It’s just the beginning,” she said.
Bush declared the fires a major disaster on Wednesday, setting in motion long-term federal recovery program.
The fires have destroyed about 2,200 structures since Sunday and led to the largest evacuation in California history. The flames have burned at least 431,000 acres across five counties, from Ventura in the north all the way into Mexico. Property damage has reached at least $1 billion in San Diego County alone.
A break in this week’s high, hot winds, and a helpful change in their direction, had officials hoping they could make progress Thursday against the still-threatening fires.
Ellie