Bill Clinton: “Good evening. For just a few moments, I want to speak to you good people in southern California who are enduring in an…”

“Good evening. For just a few moments, I want to speak to you good people in southern California who are enduring in an agonizing tragedy with the spread of the wildfires. Whenever natural disasters like this strike one region of our Nation, all the rest of us try to pull together as one community, a family, to help those in need. That's what Americans do. And that's why the prayers and good wishes of all the citizens of our Nation are with the people of California. We're facing those fires together. This has to be a terrifying experience for children awakened at night by their parents and carried away from their homes before they're lost; for property owners, some of whom have faced down a wall of fire with nothing more than a garden hose in their hands and a prayer in their hearts; and especially, for the gallant, heroic men and women who are fighting these fires and risking their lives to save people and property from being consumed by the blaze. I'm especially grateful for the work of the pilots, many of whom have flown after dark into strong winds to drop water on the fires to contain their fury. Their actions and the work of countless others define the word ``courage,'' and we can never repay them for what they have done and what they are still prepared to do. In the fires which struck the southland, we've moved quickly to speed Federal resources and a strong Federal response to those places where it could do the most good in helping the State and local efforts.…”