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Bush Surveys Record-Breaking Calif. Wildfires
Since June 21, 2,000 Fires Have Ignited Across State
POSTED: 8:10 am EDT July 17,
2008
UPDATED: 9:22 pm EDT July 17,
2008
President George W. Bush has gotten a firsthand look at some of the wildfires burning in California. The president took an aerial tour with California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to survey fire damage in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest. Bush was shown maps of the fires and then chatted with smoke jumpers who were mending and repacking parachutes.
The president offered federal help as well as encouragement to some of the 25,000 firefighters working under a blazing sun to contain the wildfires. Since a huge lightning storm on June 21, about 2,000 separate fires have ignited across California, scorching nearly 900,000 acres.Heavy smoke choked skies over much of the state last week, but air quality has since improved. As of Thursday, 43 fires were still active, reported KCRA-TV in Sacramento.
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Distributed by Internet Broadcasting Systems, Inc. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
