San Diego Fires: Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger Rocks

The San Diego Fires continue to burn. I am most proud of our Governor and the Mayor of San Diego. In times of difficultly, we often look to our public leaders. The San Diego fires today, I found it to be a great relief when Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger arrived in San Diego this afternoon and promised to give San Diego County whatever help it needs to fight the fires. Here is the rest of the story from http://www.signonsandiego.com/: Governor Schwarzenegger said: "The San Diego fires are the worst in the state. San Diego has the biggest fires right now. I think the fact you had to evacuate 250,000 people, that's huge,” the governor said at an afternoon news conference at Cal Fire's local headquarters.
Schwarzenegger said President Bush called him while he was in Rancho San Diego and said “anything we need, he would immediately provide.”
“This is a tragic day for San Diego County and the state of California,” Schwarzenegger said. “The fire is fast moving.”
Schwarzenegger said U.S. Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer also offered help. “We are stretched to the limit when it comes to resources,” the governor said. “We need as much help as possible.” The governor said 800 National Guard troops will be freed from border duty to help law enforcement with evacuations and crowd control. He said military aircraft also will help fight the fire. “Planes are coming up as we speak, helicopters,” the governor said.
That might not be the only military assistance San Diego County gets.

Later in the day, a Schwarzenegger spokesman said the governor has asked President Bush to authorize federal military forces to assist with the emergency. That might include Marines stationed around the county, but no details have been worked out.
Before the news conference, Schwarzenegger met with fire officials and other elected officials to review the extent of the fires, looking over poster-sized maps depicting how the fires were spreading.
From Rancho San Diego, Schwarzenegger said he would go visit four firefighters injured Sunday battling the Harris fire. One of the four has reportedly been put into an induced coma to treat her injuries.
-Rick Rockhill