President George W. Bush meets with the Bentley family during a walking
tour of the fire-damaged Harbison Canyon community in San Diego, Calif.,
Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2003. The Bentley family lost their home in last week's
wildfires. White House photo by Eric Draper.
Major fires began in Southern California on October 24,
eventually growing to twelve large fires covering more than 746,000 acres,
becoming one of the largest set of fires ever in California. As of
November 3, seven of these fires have been contained. Five fires
continue to burn uncontained including the 280,000 acre Cedar Fire
east of San Diego. The fires destroyed over 4,600 buildings
(including more than 3,300 residences) and resulted in the deaths
of 20 people, and caused over 180 injuries. Nearly 100,000 people
have been evacuated and over 3,500 people have used temporary shelters.
Approximately 300,000 customers have lost power,
communications have been disrupted and schools have been forced to close.
Fourteen Indian reservations have been impacted by the fires and at least
seven sustained severe damage. Air quality in much of Southern California
fell to unhealthy levels and residents were advised to stay indoors as much
as possible.
The overall recovery effort will include providing
immediate assistance to displaced residents and businesses, and then
helping them rebuild; repairing damaged infrastructure; and preventing
or minimizing damage from floos and mudslides expected from winter rains.
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