Honoring the first responders, paying tribute to the victims of the Southern California wildfires, and mourning the loss of Firefighter Captain Tedmund "Ted" Hall, and Firefighter Specialist Arnaldo "Arnie" Quinones.

I thank my friend for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, let me begin by expressing appreciation to my friend, colleague and partner in dealing with this and with a wide range of issues that affect the Los Angeles area, Mr. Schiff.

It is true that we are in the midst, Mr. Speaker, of what is the largest recorded fire in the history of Los Angeles County, and it has been a difficult time. It started in a little, tiny area above La Canada Flintridge. Immediately, we saw the wonderful local, county and State officials come together, as is so often the case, to deal with this tragedy. We also were able to see--and we continue to see at this moment, Mr. Speaker--one of the unique capabilities shown by California, because of the fact that we regularly deal with fire, that being the Unified Command.

Under Captain Mike Dietrich, the incident commander, we have seen all of these firefighters--the 8,000, the number mentioned by my colleague Mr. Schiff--come from near and far to join together under this Unified Command to prosecute this fire, which, as of right now, has burned over 160,000 acres.

Now, to put this in context, the Angeles National Forest is made of 650,000 acres, and it is the number one, most utilized national park in the United States of America. Why? Because of its proximity to the Los Angeles basin. In excess of 160,000 acres have burned at this point, and it's about 60 percent contained. It is hoped that full containment will take place around the 15th of this month, meaning sometime next week.

So this is a problem with which we have dealt for a long period of time, and it is obviously one we will continue to face. We all know, Mr. Speaker, that fires are a national phenomenon, but when we see lives and property threatened, it is essential that we do everything that we can to put forward priority number one, and that is the protection first of life and then of property.

As Mr. Schiff has said, we also know that we have tragically lost two courageous firefighters, and having just gone through the resolution dealing with September 11 and the loss of those firefighters, we are reminded again of the courage of these individuals.

Just before getting onto the airplane at LAX yesterday, I had a lengthy conversation with Laurie Barrios, who is the sister of Captain Ted Hall. She talked about the sacrifice that their family has made.

In fact, I should say, with Mr. Towns here, jokingly, she said, We're like a New York family.

Her father had been a battalion chief. Her brothers and other relatives are firefighters in this California family. She quoted her brother, who said at a reunion that they had had just recently, I am not a hero. I am just an average guy, doing the job that I love.

That, I believe, really is the vision and the goal that so many firefighters have. They're not selfish. They very much want to make sure that they can ensure the safety of people and property. The sacrifice. Mr. Schiff mentioned the Glendale officer who was in uniform at day and who volunteered at night. These people are so extraordinarily dedicated.

So Captain Ted Hall was one of those tragically killed, working to save lives and property. Specialist Arnie Quinones is the other, and I know that he is a constituent of our colleague Mr. McKeon. Mr. Berman is here. I know that his area has been impacted, Mr. Sherman's as well, Mr. Lewis', Mr. Baca's. This has had an impact all over the southern California area; but the unique tragedy here in the case of Mr. Quinones is that his wife, Laurie, is expecting a child in 2 weeks. So, as we look at the two lives that have been lost, Specialist Quinones will have passed away before his child is born. It underscores the fragility of life and the importance of the work that these people have engaged in.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to also share a little bit more of the conversation that I had with Captain Hall's sister. She referred to their family as having been firefighters for--I guess now--generations, and she talked about their respect and reverence for the environment. She said that her father would always say, when they were out hiking, to put the pinecone back exactly where it was because that is God's gift to us. She had, as had every member of their family, a wonderful reverence for the environment.

Mr. Speaker, there is no way that I can stand here and articulate the emotion that Captain Hall's sister, Laurie Barrios, shared with me when she insisted that we pursue a balanced policy when it deals with the preservation of our environment. She went so far as to say that there are, obviously, steps that could have been taken that would have diminished the magnitude of this fire. Again, I can't speak as strongly as she, but I do believe that it is absolutely essential that we pursue that very, very balanced approach in dealing with fires.

With 160,000 acres burning, one of the challenges has been, as Mr. Schiff said, what has happened to the air quality in the area. Well, I think that controlled burns and taking steps to ensure that fires do not spread are essential. The great team in Los Angeles County, led by Fire Chief P. Michael Freeman, and others in the State of California, in the County of Los Angeles, and in these great cities that we're privileged to represent make it very, very clear that we want to take those preemptive steps to ensure that, while we'll always face fires in the future, we can diminish the level of damage that we have seen in the past 10 days in southern California.

So, Mr. Speaker, we recognize most importantly the loss of two heroes, Captain Ted Hall and Specialist Arnie Quinones. We at the same time recognize the continued sacrifice that at this moment is going on in southern California to do everything that they possibly can to get this fire under control. In the names of Arnie Quinones and Ted Hall, I hope very much that we will do everything that we can to ensure that all levels of government and individuals take steps to make sure that we don't have the kind of tragedy through which we're going at this moment.

At the outset, Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the chairman for moving this resolution so expeditiously and in time for a memorial service that will be conducted at Dodger Stadium this Saturday. I rise today to speak in support of legislation I've introduced with my colleague, David Dreier, my neighbor in California, honoring the first responders to the recent California wildfires, paying tribute to all those who helped during this crisis, and mourning the loss of Firefighter Captain Tedmund ``Ted'' Hall and Firefighter Specialist Arnaldo ``Arnie'' Quinones who died while bravely fighting the Station fire. These courageous men made the ultimate sacrifice for their family and friends and greater community, deserve our recognition and have earned our undying gratitude.

It is, I suppose, fitting, Mr. Speaker, that we take up this resolution following the September 11 resolution. When we think of September 11, in addition to the terrible tragedy and the loss of so many innocent lives, we think of the bravery of the emergency responders who, while others were rushing out of those collapsing building, they were rushing in.

Similarly, in California, 3,000 miles away from the site of that terrible tragedy, we, once again see firefighters rushing in while others are rushing out. And none could exemplify this courage and this call to service more than Specialist Quinones and Captain Hall. Our thoughts today go out to the families of these brave men. And with this resolution we seek to honor their lives and also highlight the contributions of thousands of other personnel who helped fight these massive wild fires which have burned hundreds of thousands of acres of public and private lands, destroyed and damaged structures and homes and forced the evacuation of thousands of families.

The weather conditions in California have been mixed. At times the weather has been still; the wind has been still. But that has caused smoke to accumulate and hampered emergency aircraft. At other times the winds have fanned the flames and started new fires. Low humidity has also, and high ambient temperatures have, contributed to the heat of the blaze, to the point where the Governor of California proclaimed a state of emergency in several counties in Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Santa Cruz, Placer, Monterey and Mariposa.

The Station fire, ignited by arson, began on August 26 and burned more than 160,000 acres of public lands and private property in L.A. County and the Angeles National Forest where it continues to burn, including over 200 structures and homes. It is currently one of the largest fires in modern California history, and the largest wild fire in the history of Los Angeles County, as far as we can tell.

The Station fire continues to threaten 7,000 structures in the national forest and nearby communities like Altadena, Acton, Glendale, La Canada Flintridge, La Crescenta, Pasadena, Littlerock, Sunland, Sierra Madre, and Tujunga. More than 8,000 fire personnel, 800 fire engines and approximately 40 helicopters, 13 fixed-wing aircraft and 88 water tenders have been deployed statewide to assist with firefighting efforts.

The continuing commitment and heroism exhibited by fire fighters have saved countless lives, homes and businesses. We also recognize the additional emergency personnel such as law enforcement and medical personnel who have coordinated with local authorities and fire fighters and performed beyond the call of duty in the preservation and protection of human lives.

We also recognize hundreds of volunteers who gave their time to help ensure that evacuees are sheltered, clothed, fed and comforted during this traumatic event. I can recall visiting some of the shelters in La Crescenta and La Canada, meeting with volunteers for the Red Cross. One, Kim Lardia, who's a Glendale police officer, worked a full day in uniform as a police officer, then came out in the evening to volunteer at the shelter to make sure that people had a place to sleep. It's people like this, bravely serving the community that are such an inspiration to us and give us confidence that we will finally get this fire put out.

So I want to join with my colleague again, David Dreier. We had the chance to visit the command center and speak with the fire chief and the incident commander, see the incredible coordination of Federal, State and local resources, had the chance to see not only acres and acres of burned forest land, but also homes that had been destroyed and devastated.

And we wanted to introduce this resolution today to acknowledge all the superb people who have come together to fight these fires and to pledge our commitment to make sure that the Federal Government continues to be a good partner. And once again, I urge support for this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to both send my deepest condolences to the families of the two brave firefighters lost in the ``Station Fire,'' which directly impacted my district, and to thank the thousands of fire and rescue personnel who have fought the largest blaze in Los Angeles County history.

The tragic loss of Fire Captain Tedmund ``Ted'' Hall, 47, of San Bernardino County, and Firefighter Specialist Arnaldo ``Arnie'' Quinones, 35, of Palmdale, has hit our communities very hard. These brave men paid the ultimate price to protect lives and property of individuals they had never met before. This kind of heroism serves as a constant reminder of what it means to ``sacrifice.'' Each man and woman who dons a fireman's uniform does so knowing that there is always the possibility that they may not make it home to see their families. But in the face of this adversity, they still serve.

Firefighter Specialist Quinones was a constituent of mine. He lived in Palmdale, California, with his wife Loressa. They are expecting their first child in the next few weeks. My heart goes out to his family. I know his spirit will live on and endure forever within their family.

Fire Captain Ted Hall was a resident of Hesperia, California. He graduated from the Fire Academy in 1983 and served ever since. He was survived by his wife Katherine, and sons Randall, 21, and Steven, 20. My deepest condolences go out to his family as well.

I was on the ground the past couple of weeks and witnessed, first hand, the bravery

of the firefighters and rescue personnel during this fire. As I speak, firefighters have contained 61 percent of a fire that has, thus far, scorched 160,357 acres in the Angeles National forest. Firefighters have greatly limited the loss of property because of their valiant efforts to beat back the flames. The hot, dry conditions of southern California, coupled with swift winds make fighting these fires treacherous. Add in the geographic landscape that the firefighters must deal with and you can begin to understand the risk that every firefighter takes.

For all of the work that I have witnessed and for all that none of us has seen, I thank you. Thank you for putting your lives in danger to protect those you don't know. Thank you for giving us all that comfort, knowing that you are there to help us in our time of need. And thank you to the families that must endure sleepless nights, wondering whether they will see their loved ones walk through the door one more time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to offer deep condolences to the victims of the recent California wildfires and the residents who have lost their homes and businesses; and to pay tribute to the brave firefighters and first responders still standing in harm's way.

The wildfires broke out in the last week of August. Since then, more than 160,000 acres have burned. More than 160 structures--houses and businesses--have been destroyed; nearly 4,000 more remain in harm's way.

At this stage, thousands of residents and families have been affected by the flames--forced into shelters; displaced; facing the horrifying prospect of a home burned to the ground or a workplace caught in the blaze.

The prayers of every Member of Congress go out to every resident impacted by the fires.

As the Nation has watched the rapid spread of the wildfires, no one deserves greater praise or gratitude than our firefighters on the front lines.

These dedicated men and women stay through the night to get the job done. Their bravery is unparalleled, their heroism unmatched. Their efforts are the front line of defense against the fires, and their sacrifice is saving lives.

Two of these firefighters paid the ultimate price for the safety of LA County's residents.

Captain Tedmund ``Ted'' Hall and Specialist Arnaldo ``Arnie'' Quinones represent our nation's best values: service and sacrifice, an obligation to help others and a responsibility to protect your community.

To ensure our firefighters have the resources they need to beat back the flames, Congress provided nearly $490 million in extra funding this year, boosting the federal government's commitment to helping the people standing in the line of fire each year.

Congress will continue to watch closely the developments and spread of the wildfires across the State of California, and we will remain steadfast in our support for state and county emergency agencies in their efforts to protect local residents and rebuild in the days ahead.

In the words of this resolution, the Congress ``condemns the acts of arson perpetrated in igniting the Los Angeles County Station Fire,'' and we extend our appreciation to the volunteers, law enforcement and medical personnel for helping evacuees, sheltering the displaced, and treating injuries in recent weeks.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to yield as much time as he may consume to my colleague from California (Mr. Dreier), the coauthor of this resolution.

(Mr. DREIER asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, I would just like to close by saying I thank everyone for the cooperative effort here. Sadly, recently, we've talked a lot about heroes, and too often we mix up heroes and victims. I think we've got to remind ourselves that, when we talk about Ted Hall and Arnie Quinones, we're talking about true heroes. Victims are individuals who are at the wrong place at the wrong time and who have paid the ultimate price. Heroes are individuals who willfully put themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time and who pay the ultimate price. There is a huge difference between a hero and a victim.

Today, with this resolution, we're not only recognizing the men and women who are out fighting the fires today, but we're recognizing the heroes--all of the individuals who are fighting fires and who are addressing this issue--in the persons of Messrs. Hall and Quinones, the heroes who chose to serve their community and to put themselves in harm's way as a service. With this resolution, we do them honor and respect, not only to the two individuals but to everyone who chooses to put themselves in harm's way to protect others.

I yield back the balance of my time.