Bush Signs Declaration, Property Damage Soars
According to the Associated Press, property damage from this week’s devastating Southern California wildfires has reached at least $1 billion in San Diego County alone, officials said Wednesday.
“Clearly, this is going to be a $1 billion or more disaster,” Ron Lane, San Diego County’s director of emergency services, told reporters during a news conference.
He said at least 1,200 homes had been destroyed in the county, a number officials believed would rise. That brings to roughly 1,500 the number of homes destroyed in the seven-county region that has been ablaze since Sunday.
The announcement of San Diego’s staggering losses came as President Bush signed a major disaster declaration for California in the wake of wildfires that have charred 410,000 acres and forced at least 500,000 people to evacuate.
“Americans all across this land care deeply about them,” the president said after a Cabinet meeting convened to coordinate federal efforts. “We’re concerned about their safety. We’re concerned about their property.”