Bush promises federal help for wildfire victims

WASHINGTON -- President Bush mobilized federal emergency assistance Tuesday on behalf of Southern California officials struggling with devastating wildfires, and scheduled a visit to the stricken region on Thursday.

"The president wants to travel to California to witness firsthand what the people there are going through with these wildfires," White House press secretary Dana Perino said. "He wants to ensure that the state and local governments are getting what they need from the federal government and he wants to make sure to deliver a message in person to the victims that he has them in his thoughts and prayers."

To make the trip, Bush is canceling a previously scheduled trip to St. Louis, where he was to deliver remarks on the budget and headline a fundraiser for the national Republican Party. Vice President Dick Cheney was going to fill in for the president, but the White House later decided to reschedule the events.

Perino also announced that Bush was convening a Cabinet meeting today for a briefing from FEMA administrator R. David Paulison and his boss, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff. The top federal disaster officials were arriving in California on Tuesday night to see what more could be done from Washington and were to address the president and the Cabinet via secure videoconference.

Ahead of the Cabinet meeting, Bush held a half-hour conference call Tuesday night with several officials involved in the federal effort, with all receiving an initial update from the ground from Chertoff and Paulison. Chertoff reported that weather conditions are hampering efforts to contain the fires, and said top immediate priorities include helping with evacuation and shelter, providing relief for weary firefighters and sending medical teams, White House spokesman Scott Stanzel said.

Schwarzenegger sent a letter to Bush late Tuesday asking him to declare a major disaster in California due to the fires. The move would pave the way for the federal government to provide financial assistance to those who lost possessions in the fire.

Bush briefly departed from a war on terror speech at the National Defense University to offer prayers for those losing houses and businesses -- or about to lose them.

"All of us across this nation are concerned for the families who have lost their homes and the many families who have been evacuated from their homes," he said. "We send the help of the federal government."

Just before 3 a.m., he declared a federal emergency for seven California counties, a move that will speed disaster-relief efforts. But it will take a major disaster declaration to help victims with property losses.