Bush Tours Southern California Fire Damaged Area

Thursday, October 25th 2007, 7:38 am

By: News On 6

SAN DIEGO (AP) _ President Bush flew to fire-ravaged California Thursday with promises of federal help, supportive words for those who've lost home and businesses and thanks to overworked firefighters.

``It's a sad situation out there in Southern California,'' Bush said on the rainy South Lawn of the White House early Thursday as he was leaving for bone-dry California and a visit to the blaze-stricken region. ``I fully understand that the people have got a lot of anguish in their hearts, and they just need to know a lot of folks care about them,'' he said.

Bush, who was getting an aerial tour of the devastation wrought by blazes fanned by Santa Ana winds, ferried several California lawmakers with him on Air Force One. He 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.

The president also was getting a look at the situation on the ground. But first came the helicopter tour inspection of the wildfire damage and a visit to a San Diego neighborhood. He was then traveling north to Escondido to assess that area's damage, talk about recovery efforts and have lunch with emergency responders.

``We have some incredibly brave citizens who are risking their lives to protect people and property in California and we owe a great debt of gratitude to our nation's firefighters,'' Bush said.

Fran Townsend, his White House-based homeland security adviser, said the most important aspect of the president's trip was providing comfort to the victims of the fires.

``People are going through a very difficult time,'' she told reporters traveling with Bush. ``This is chaotic. It's anxiety producing. And just having him there _ where he walks the neighborhoods that have been devastated and listens to the people who have been affected _ is very important.''

Bush declared the fires a major disaster on Wednesday, setting in motion long-term federal recovery programs, some requiring matches from the state, to help state and local governments, families, individuals and certain nonprofit organizations recover. The assistance varies from direct aid for uninsured losses to help with rebuilding infrastructure.

For instance, the Agriculture Department on Thursday approved a monthlong emergency food stamp program in San Diego County to help feed people whose homes were damaged or destroyed or who lost income because of the fires.

``There will be help for the people of California,'' the president said.

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.

Townsend said the disaster response is unfolding ``exactly the way it should be'' and is ``better and faster'' that the administration's performance after Hurricane Katrina. She commended state and local authorities for leading, but also sought to emphasize federal cooperation. Townsend ticked off a timeline of federal help since the fires began, from emergency grants to military resources to Bush's day-trip to the scene.

``This is not the end of federal assistance. It's just the beginning,'' she said.

Memories still linger of the government's failed response to Katrina in 2005 and how it hurt Bush's standing. The White House is determined to convey a picture of a speedy and effective response this time.

The fires are the first natural disaster to begin to approach the scale of the Gulf Coast storm, though Katrina affected a far larger geographic area, knocked out all communications and other infrastructure, and impacted a relatively poorer population and less-prepared state. But after a special Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, Bush said his administration would continue to make sure that the federal government's response was well-coordinated.

The tricky matter of when to time a presidential tour _ which itself commands state and local resources _ was one that the White House had to work through. Bush did not want his presence to interfere with emergency response efforts, so aides insisted that he and Schwarzenegger together decided Thursday was the right time for a presidential visit.