[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 90 (Tuesday, June 3, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1114-E1115]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     TRIBUTE TO SUMMIT FIRE VICTIMS

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. MICHAEL M. HONDA

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 3, 2008

  Mr. HONDA. Madam Speaker, I rise today to express my condolences to 
those affected by the Summit Fire in the Santa Cruz Mountains on the 
Santa Clara/Santa Cruz County line, which thankfully has not claimed 
lives,

[[Page E1115]]

but destroyed 36 residences and 18 outbuildings. Over 3,000 personnel 
from across the State were summoned to fight the fire which burned more 
than 4000 acres. My heart goes out to the 12 firefighters who were 
injured during the response and their families. I want to commend 
Governor Schwarzenegger, the California Office of Emergency Services, 
Cal Fire, the Santa Clara and Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Departments, 
the Air National Guard, the National Oceanic and Atmosphere 
Administration and the countless first responders for their swift 
response to the fire. I especially want to thank Cal Fire Division 
Chief Joe Waterman and Tom Maruyama, Deputy Director of Response and 
Recovery for Office of Emergency Services for briefing me on the fire 
containment plan and the State's response and recovery efforts. The 
seamless communication between ground and air crews from various local 
agencies and departments further exemplifies California as a model 
State for disaster response and interoperability.
  I and my esteemed colleague Rep. Anna Eshoo are closely monitoring 
the recovery effort and remain in close contact with State authorities. 
We are hopeful that the rebuilding process can begin and that the 
residents of the affected areas will be able to resume their normal 
activities.

                          ____________________