Monday, 10/22/2007 Print Version |
Governor Holds Press Conference on San Diego County and South Fires
GOVERNOR: Hello, everybody, and thank you very much for being out here today with us. I first of all want to say thank you to everyone for the great briefing that I’ve just gotten. I want to thank CAL FIRE Director Ruben Grijalva, I want to thank CAL FIRE Chief Jack Maynar (phonetic), Unit Chief Rick Hansen, Mayor Jerry Sanders, and then Sheriff Kolender, and Supervisors Roberts and Jacobs for being part of this very important briefing. I also just want to mention that we have gotten offers of help from Senator Feinstein; she just called and was very concerned about the fires, and offered her help. Secretary of Agriculture Jack Conner called us and offered his help, anything that we need. And during the briefing inside, President Bush also called and offered his help, and he was very concerned about the fires, and anything, he offered, anything that we need, he will immediately provide. So I think it’s very nice to see everyone coming together on this very important emergency here.
First of all, let me just say that it’s a tragic day for San Diego County and for California. The devastating fires in this county have killed already one person and injured four firefighters. Maria and my thoughts and prayers are with the families of the victims, and then after this press conference I’m going to visit the four firefighters at the hospital, and their families.
Now, let me just say that the authorities have set up already evacuation centers and shelters for animals. As you know, 250,000 people have been evacuated. And we also have asked General Wade from the National Guard to get us troops, and he has committed to take 800 troops off the border to provide for evacuation and for ground control.
Now, the Harris Fire has already burned more than 20,000 acres, and of course those numbers are changing all the time. The mandatory evacuations that have taken place, as I’ve said earlier. The fires are fast-moving. Many, many of the structures have been already destroyed. More than 1,000 homes are threatened. The fire has been driven, of course, because of the strong winds, the high temperatures, and the dry environment that we have.
So if you have any further questions, you can ask them afterwards, but first I want to bring out Mayor Jerry Sanders to say a few words here about the conditions. Thank you.
MAYOR SANDERS: Governor, thank you.
GOVERNOR: And I just want to say—(Applause)—I just want to say that anything the Mayor needs, and anything San Diego needs, we are there. We are partners in this. The State and the federal government, everyone is coming together here to help. Thank you. (Applause)
MAYOR SANDERS: Thank you very much. Governor, I want to thank you very much for your rapid assistance, and for the fact you’re here already. I also want to express sympathy for all those that are affected by these fires, and those go from the border all the way up to Fallbrook and all the way toward the coast, and throughout the City of San Diego and all the other cities that have been affected. We will work very hard to keep the public informed in a collaborative effort with the County of San Diego and with the State. And so far we have had absolutely tremendous cooperation by all the agencies working together to make sure we’re not leaving anybody out, that we’re informing everybody of what’s going on, and that we’re sharing the resources and working very hard in that collaborative effort.
The County has filed an emergency declaration on behalf of all the cities in San Diego County. The Governor has already filed a declaration of emergency for the state. And as the Governor said, we’ve had offers of assistance from President Bush and White House staff, both of our senators, Boxer and Feinstein. And I think you see here our entire state delegation, both Assembly Members and the Senate, which means that we have got a lot of support.
I’d like to thank once again the Governor for that quick response. We really appreciate that. But I have to tell you, now it’s time for San Diegans, no matter where you live in this county, to work together to, No. 1, make sure your neighbors are safe; No. 2, support those who are being evacuated, and No. 3, to make sure we do this is an orderly and safe way so that we don’t lose anybody to some type of injury that was caused by panic. We’ll be informing people of the situation as quickly as we can. We’d ask that the public respond just as quickly, but just as safely.
Now I’d like to call in Sheriff Kolender to speak. (Applause)
SHERIFF KOLENDER: Governor, thank you very much for being here, sir, and supporting us. And I want to thank the media too. It’s through you that we are getting to the public. There’ll be a lot of issues discussed today concerning causes and trying to fix it, and the fact that it’s growing, and it’s the worst fire that the state has ever had; it passes the Cedar Fire. We are doing better from a standpoint of inoperability. Our communications between each other has improved. The Reverse 911 has been modernized, and we have notified over 80,000 people so far on the Reverse 911. And my main issue is, I would like you to continue to give the public the information they need to help them make their decisions. It is very important that they understand that their life is more important than property, and that they must, if they see it coming, to prepare. If they’re asked to leave, they must leave. When they don’t leave, they not only threaten their lives, but they take firefighters and law enforcement away from what they’re doing to get them out of the house. And we want them to do it; we want them to realize that they must understand what’s going on and participate, and if they’re asked to leave, to evacuate, we want them to leave. They cannot stay there in spite of that, and we don’t want to come get them. We want them to go, and they have to do that to protect their families, themselves, and everyone. The Reverse 911 is doing well. It is getting kind of busy, and people have to wait. But hang on, and it will continue for—you might have to wait five minutes, but you’ll get your chance to ask the questions. I truly hope that things work out, and that we are going to see some progress in the next day or so. So far it has just grown, and we are all very, very concerned, as you can see.
It is now my pleasure to introduce the Chairman of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors, Ron Roberts. (Applause)
SUPERVISOR ROBERTS: Thank you, Sheriff Kolender. The situation we face, I don’t think I have to suggest to anyone, is very dangerous, it’s very explosive. There are parts of this county where we thought we had a relatively safe condition. This morning we had what looked like a very small fire going in the community of Fallbrook. We have just given the first notices to evacuate portions of Fallbrook because the fire has exploded across the freeway there. We have a very dangerous, unpredictable situation that is going on. We have, as we’ve noted, we have some of the highest temperatures, some of the driest landscape conditions, and some of the most powerful winds; all the ingredients for a perfect firestorm. We are very appreciative that the Governor is here to offer the support; we need that support. We’re going to need that support, not just in fighting the fire, but in getting these areas put back into the, hopefully, the state that they existed before this fire. We’ve already lost numerous houses in communities throughout San Diego County, and it’s unfortunate to see this happening four years after we had what was then the most disastrous fire we’ve ever faced. But we’re going to get through this, and the cooperation that you’re seeing regionally, if nothing else was learned four years ago, we learned we’ve got to work together, we’ve got to use all the resources that we have, and we’ve got to call in anything that we can get from the state and the federal government to assist us. We’ve got a long way to go. We activated our emergency center yesterday, just over 24 hours ago. The fires broke out just a little bit over 24 hours ago, and we have major problems right now. We’re not at the end of this; you just have to look in back of us here at the smoke that still fills the sky from the Harris Fire, which is truly a devastating, and continues to be a very dangerous condition. But Governor, thank you for being here, and thank you for your offer of help from the state, and we’re going to take you up on that. (Applause)
The Mayor has reminded me that I’m to introduce Supervisor Diane Jacob, whose district for a good portion of this contained all of the fires that were going on, and unfortunately it’s spread well beyond that now. (Applause)
SUPERVISOR JACOB: Thank you, Ron. And a special thank you to you, Governor, for being here today. It shows that you really care about us, particularly in the midst of this firestorm. But the one thing I’d like to ask of you, I noticed when the Mayor was up here you put your arm around him and you said, "Anything the city wants, they get from the state." Could I have the same kind of thing?
GOVERNOR: Absolutely.
SUPERVISOR JACOB: For the county.
GOVERNOR: Anything you need, okay?
SUPERVISOR JACOB: Thank you. Thank you so much. I represent the people in the east county area, those that have been hit hard by the Harris Fire, and also the Witch Creek Fire, and Ramona. And then my district also includes Poway. And what we’ve tried to communicate to people who are in the evacuation centers, to be patient and calm. It’s really, really hard. They don’t know whether their homes exist or not. But for those who are still in harm’s way, because this is still a very, very dangerous fire situation, winds could change it at any particular time. It’s in the hands of Mother Nature. So for those folks, do what the Sheriff is saying, do what the law enforcement and the fire officials are telling you. If you think that you need to evacuate, if you think you’re being threatened, don’t wait for a call or a knock on the door. Pack up your belongings and leave. Life is most important. That should be the first priority, although it’s tough to lose your property and all of your belongings, you can replace those. But you can’t replace the lives. So top priority is to save lives. And Governor, thank you so very much for being here, and your support for the county and the cities.
GOVERNOR: Thank you. Thank you very much. And I also would like to have maybe CAL FIRE Chief Jack Maynar come out and just say a few words. Please. (Applause)
CHIEF MAYNAR: Thank you. I can’t reiterate what the Supervisors have said, what the Sheriff has said. If the citizens can prepare themselves and then react accordingly, that’s the best thing they can do to help us. With the wind blowing the way it is, it’s very difficult for the firefighters to get out ahead of this thing. If we’re doing that, it’s typically because there’s somebody in trouble and we need to help them. So by working together, the citizens and us, when the wind dies off we’ll be able to take care of this thing and wrap it up and take care of business. But for now, preparedness on behalf of the citizens is the best thing they can offer us. And thank you. (Applause)
GOVERNOR: I also want to take this opportunity to thank all the elected officials that came out here today and showed their concerns. And I also want to take this opportunity to say thank you to our firefighters, because they have been working 24 hours around the clock. (Applause)
And let me tell you something, that I have gone now to enough fires to know that we have the best prepared and the best trained, the best experienced, and the best equipped firefighters in the world, so a big hand to them again, for the great work that they are doing. (Applause)
So if there are any questions, please feel free to ask.
Q: Governor, has anybody given you a sense of when this thing could be brought under control?
GOVERNOR: I think that our Fire Chief, Jack Mayner, is probably better equipped to tell you that. But I can only tell you that I don’t think even the best experts can predict, because as you have heard earlier, this morning they thought it was a little fire. Now, it’s totally out of control. We are battling with this all over the State of California. There are 7, 8 fires right now. We are stretched to the limit when it comes to the resources. We have been asking neighboring states to ask for help, to get some of the resources and some of the fire engines, and also airplanes and stuff like that. We have asked the federal government for help, and to release some of the troops. So we need as much help as possible. But as you have heard earlier, one of the great things here is that unlike four years ago, there has been a much quicker response, better coordination amongst all the different entities, if it is on the local level, state level, federal level. Law enforcement has been very, very responsive, very quick in acting. And then, of course, the Office of Emergency Services. Everyone has really come together. I think that this is one of those things that immediate action is important here, not dialogue, you know, because you have gotten a lot of promises in the past, but this is all about action now, and this is why we are responding very quickly, and why we are all here today.
Q: Governor, during the Cedar Fire we had a big battle over using military aircraft to help fight this fire. Where are we at on that today?
GOVERNOR: Well, I think that you will have, you know, the federal government come in and give us anything that we need. But of course the wind conditions sometimes don’t allow you to fly. So, I mean, you still have those challenges. But we have the best cooperation between the federal, the state, and the local authorities.
Q: You have asked them for help?
GOVERNOR: Absolutely, we have asked them for help, and they have offered their help. And planes are coming in as we speak.
Q: Governor, when you came down from Malibu—can you kind of paint a picture of, you know, outside of San Diego County, about the rest of southern California and what’s going on?
GOVERNOR: Well, like I said, there are many fires, seven fires. I’ve heard just lately it’s gone to eight fires. So we are all over southern California. And now even northern California, there are fires. And so when you have this kind of a situation, what you heard earlier—
