Madame Speaker, as a representative of areas effected by the recent wildfires, and as a cosponsor of H.Res. 778, I rise in strong support of the resolution.

Over the last ten days wildfires have devastated much of Southern California.  Hundreds of thousands of acres have been burned.  Thousands of homes and businesses have been destroyed.

While this tragedy has faded from the national headlines, thousands of our first responders, military personnel, and volunteers continue to battle the fires and aid the recovery effort.  Today we commend these amazing individuals.

Thousands of firefighters from throughout California and across the nation put their lives on the line to protect our communities.  They battled out of control flames fanned by relentless hurricane-force winds, and fought tirelessly for 12, 24, even 36 hours straight.  Countless police officers and military personnel successfully executed the largest evacuation in California’s history.  Tens of thousands of evacuees were sheltered with ample food, supplies and facilities.  And thousands of generous individuals have given their time, money, and resources to help the victims of this tragedy get back on their feet.

Madame Speaker, California is sadly all too familiar with wildfires.  My district includes parts of San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties, all of which experience wildfires almost annually.  The most recent was the Zaca fire which burned more than 240 thousand acres of these three counties.

I am proud to say, however, that California’s emergency preparedness systems and procedures are among the best in the nation.  As the wildfires grew in size and number the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services was able to coordinate and allocate resources to the areas that needed them most, regardless of jurisdiction.  Local firefighters from San Diego battled flames alongside colleagues from Nevada, while planes from Wyoming and Colorado filled their tanks at Channel Islands Air National Guard Station just outside my district.  If it were not for this organized and swift effort, many more acres, homes, and lives could have been lost.

Madame Speaker, as we move forward I hope that we can learn from this experience to help prevent such a tragedy from repeating itself in the future.

To the countless men and women who have helped in this tragedy, I commend you thank you for your heroic efforts.

Pictured above: (center) Congresswoman Capps meets with Central Coast firefighters to discuss emergency preparedness.