Dianne Feinstein: “I rise today to give the Senate an update on the wildfires sweeping across Southern California--as the Senate continues…”

“I rise today to give the Senate an update on the wildfires sweeping across Southern California--as the Senate continues to debate legislation to change our Nation's forest policy. The situation in my State is at a critical juncture. If the weather continues to improve--as it is expected--then firefighters may be able to get a handle on the fires which continue to burn. This would be good news indeed. I would also like to report that FEMA will shortly be announcing 6 permanent field sites where victims of the fire can go for assistance and 4 additional mobile sites. It is critical that the FEMA centers get opened as soon as possible-- so that the help gets where it is needed most. There are nine large fires currently raging in the State--all of which have caused considerable damage. In total, these fires have burned over 650,000 acres--about the size of Rhode Island. Twenty people have been killed. This includes a firefighter from Marin County who was killed by a fast moving wall of fire associated with the Cedar fire. Twenty-four hundred homes have been lost in five counties, and thousands more structures have been burned. There are some 13,000 firefighters waging a battle against the fires. True to form, these firefighters have given everything they have to put out the fires and are exhausted.”