Kevin Kiley: “I thank the gentleman for that kind introduction. It is an honor to represent California's Third District. Madam…”

“I thank the gentleman for that kind introduction. It is an honor to represent California's Third District. Madam Speaker, I would like to raise an important issue regarding aid for my constituents harmed in the Caldor fire, which I had the chance to discuss with President Biden yesterday. The Caldor fire tore through El Dorado, Alpine, and Amador Counties in August of 2021. The community of Grizzly Flats was leveled and 800 homes were destroyed. With 20,000 residents under mandatory evacuation orders, further devastation was only narrowly avoided. Americans may remember the surreal images of ski slopes set aflame, smoke billowing from the foothills, and ash raining down on cities across the Sacramento Valley. Entire communities in the Lake Tahoe area had their survival hanging on a razor's edge and could well have been consumed by the flames if not for the heroics of our first responders. By the time the blaze was extinguished, it ranked among the most destructive fires in California's recorded history. I had the chance to walk through the hollowed out streets and roads of Grizzly Flats just days after the fire. To his credit, President Biden visited the following month as well. President Biden traveled to California in September of 2021 to survey the damage.…”