The Latest on California congressional members’ visit to the sites of Northern California’s wildfires (all times local):
2:30 p.m.
Nancy Pelosi, the top Democrat in the U.S. House, says Northern California’s wildfires that destroyed 8,900 buildings and killed 42 people can serve as a national model for disaster response.
Pelosi, of San Francisco, is joining other members of Congress on Saturday touring Sonoma and Napa counties, which were hard hit by the nearly two dozen fires that raged for more than a week in mid-October. She and Rep. Mike Thompson say they want to make sure fellow lawmakers in Washington understand the scope of the destruction.
Pelosi says rather than thinking incrementally about rebuilding, Congress must consider the big picture of how to build in a way that better allows the community to anticipate, prevent and respond to future disasters.
She calls the destruction “unfathomable.”
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12:30 p.m.
Sonoma County officials are cautioning a full recovery from wildfires that devastated Northern California earlier this month could take years.
But Sheriff Rob Giordano says he has seen remarkable resolve from community members and first responders. He is speaking at a memorial ceremony in Santa Rosa, one of the hardest-hit cities from the nearly two dozen wildfires.
Gov. Jerry Brown declared Saturday a “Day of Remembrance” for the wildfires victims. At least 42 people died.
Officials are praising fire responders who refused to leave the front lines of the fire as well as those who provided them food, water and resources as they battled the flames.
Nancy Pelosi, the top U.S. House Democrat, tells the crowd that “love is thicker than smoke.”
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11:30 a.m.
California fire officials have updated the number of buildings destroyed by wildfires that ripped through Northern California this month to 8,900.
U.S. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and four California members of Congress are receiving a briefing from state and federal officials in Santa Rosa, one of the cities hardest hit by the nearly two dozen wildfires that sparked Oct. 8.
Officials from the Federal Emergency Management Agency say they’ve given out more than $6 million in individual assistance. The Environmental Protection Agency says it has assessed 740 properties for hazardous waste in Napa and Sonoma counties.
Pelosi says the members are there to listen and learn about what Congress can do to assist in the response and recovery.
The members’ day began with a visit to a federally-funded Santa Rosa health center that was destroyed by the fire.
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10:30 a.m.
California fire officials have updated the number of buildings destroyed by wildfires that ripped through Northern California this month to 8,700.
U.S. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and four California members of Congress are receiving a briefing from state and federal officials in Santa Rosa, one of the cities hardest hit by the nearly two dozen wildfires that sparked Oct. 8.
Officials from the Federal Emergency Management Agency say they’ve given out more than $6 million in individual assistance. The Environmental Protection Agency says it has assessed 740 properties for hazardous waste in Napa and Sonoma counties.
Pelosi says the members are there to listen and learn about what Congress can do to assist in the response and recovery.
The members’ day began with a visit to a federally-funded Santa Rosa health center that was destroyed by the fire.
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