Governor's radio address
Listen to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's weekly radio address where he discusses the fires that have swept across Southern California.
LISTEN HERE
Here's the transcript:
My fellow Californians, this week's devastating wildfires have brought terrible destruction to our state.
The damage is staggering and the loss of 7 lives is tragic.
Maria and I join all Californians in sending our deepest condolences and prayers to the victims of these fires.
Over the course of the week, I saw entire rows of houses going up in flames.
From the air, I could see smoke and ruin that extended for miles.
I also toured communities where the fires left nothing in their path.
There is so much loss and there is so much suffering but there is also hope.
The donations are already pouring in and people have reached out to help each other since the beginning of these fires.
And for every heartbreaking moment that I spent assessing the fires, or inspecting the damage, I witnessed countless more moments of courage, kindness and heroism.
In San Diego at the Qualcomm Stadium and other shelters, evacuees were offering support to complete strangers and assisting the doctors, nurses and the staff we had on site.
In the command centers, federal, state and local officials were working side by side.
On the front lines, courageous firefighters were risking their lives.
I cannot say enough about the firefighters in our state.
In California we are always asking them to confront the deadliest disasters.
And they have proven time and time again that they are the best, the bravest and the most experienced firefighters in the world and I want to thank them from the bottom of my heart.
Now our recovery efforts have just begun and the fires are still burning.
We have a lot of difficult work ahead.
Homes, churches, businesses and entire communities must be rebuilt.
So I invite everyone to visit the CaliforniaVolunteers Web site to learn how you can help us also.
I promise you that we will not rest until every person is safe and that every person's life is back to normal.
I know we can do this.
We are resolute in our spirit. We are determined to rebuild.
We are, after all, Californians.
Thank you for listening.