For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
October 3, 2006

President Discusses California Fire Containment Upon Arrival in Los Angeles
Los Angeles International Airport
Los Angeles, California

	President's Remarks

      In Focus: Environment

4:52 P.M. PDT

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all very much for talking on Air Force One. We had a briefing on the fires that have been ravaging country here in California. I was proud to be here with the U.S. Forest Service -- as you can see, one of the yellow shirts. These are the people on the front line of fighting these fires.

And they brought me up to date, particularly on the Day Fire. And that fire has been contained, which is good news for the people of California. I congratulate the Forest Service for their planning and operational planning on fighting this fire.

I really want to thank the brave firefighters who risk their lives on a daily basis to contain the fires. I was briefed on the Healthy Forest Initiative, particularly in the urban interface, and was pleased to hear we're making progress on helping to contain fires once they start. We've got a lot more work to do. I believe Congress needs to pass further law that will enable us to restore forests once they've been burned.

But all in all, it's been a good lesson for us to watch these Forest Service people do their job, and I'm really proud of them. I want to thank you for joining me, and I congratulate you for your good work.

Thank you.

END 4:54 P.M. PDT

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