[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 12]
[Senate]
[Page 17194]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                            LAKE TAHOE FIRE

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, in the State of Nevada, one of the things we 
so appreciate is this great treasure we share with the State of 
California, Lake Tahoe, which Mark Twain called the fairest place in 
all the Earth. Some have said he said: The fairest picture the whole 
Earth affords. But the picture we get from Mark Twain is it was a 
beautiful place, and it is. There is only one other lake like it in the 
world, and that is in Russia. It is a wonderful alpine glacial lake 
about a mile deep.
  It is a wonderful resource we share with California. But as we speak, 
there is a fire raging on the eastern side of the lake. It has, at last 
count, burned 2,500 acres, four square miles. It has engulfed and 
destroyed 250 homes; 500 more are in danger of being lost. Only 10 
percent of the blaze has been contained.
  One bright spot in this tragedy is that as of now, no injuries have 
been reported, and we hope these residents and emergency teams remain 
safe.
  Many of these firefighters live in the area. They are battling this 
fire while their own homes are in danger. If we think about that for a 
moment, their own homes are at risk, their own families are in harm's 
way, and they are working to protect the homes and families of others. 
That is real bravery, and that is what a firefighter is all about. We 
owe a great deal to these men and women. We will surely owe them much 
more when this fire is brought under control. There is no way to 
protect a firefighter, other than to quote Fire Chief Edward Croker, 
who was with the New York Fire Department almost 100 years ago. Here is 
what he said:

       I have no ambition in this world but one, and that is to be 
     a fireman . . . Our proudest moment is to save lives. Under 
     the impulse of such thoughts, the nobility of the occupation 
     thrills us and stimulates us to deeds of daring, even of 
     supreme sacrifice.

  This is as we learned from South Carolina last week upon the death of 
those nine firefighters. We will keep an eye on this blaze and give the 
States of California and Nevada--the blaze is burning on the California 
side at this time--give the States of California and Nevada all the 
resources we can help them with.

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