Bloomberg.com
reports today:
Schwarzenegger wrote in a letter sent to Republican President George W. Bush today.
``With more lightning storms forecast for later this week, we sit at a critical tipping point in California that requires immediate federal help and aggressive pre-positioning of federal resources,'' wrote Schwarzenegger, also a Republican. ``I respectfully request federal active duty forces.''
The fires in California are still burning. How many weeks later? There is a high potential for more fires soon.
The men and women who have been fighting those fires have been working for weeks on end. They are exhausted. They include local Volunteer and non-volunteer Fire Departments, National Guard troops, individual residents and many others I'm not even aware of.
I am very much aware of one among them: my stepson. He is an inmate in the California Corrections system. He is serving his sentence at a prison 'fire camp'. These are not 'camps'. They are prisons where inmates with special training to fight fires serve their time. The prisoners volunteer for this training and to serve their sentences in these camps. There are many of these prisons throughout the state. My limited understanding is that they are used to set up fire breaks to help contain the fires. They are issued the gear required for this work, including those blankets that firefighters spread over themselves when they are overtaken by the fire.
I haven't heard from my stepson in many weeks. When he's not out on the fires he calls probably once a week. I am very worried about him. I pray for him and all the others who are out there working day and night, exhausted yet continuing this dangerous fight. I think about all the people in California who are breathing this smoke, losing their property and animals, risking their lives. I think about the cost we will all pay.
I sincerely hope that George Bush can find some troops to send to help.