THE PRESIDENT: I’ve just had an extensive briefing on the fires here in Georgia and Florida. You can see on the map back here, the fire covers a lot of area; a lot of timberland is being burned down. A lot of people's livelihoods¹ are being affected². A lot of good country is being destroyed. And a lot of good people are fighting the fires.

First, I appreciate very much the folks that have put a strategy in place to deal with these fires. They're doing their very best to contain the fires. But the best solution, of course, would be if the weather provided a change. Until that, they're going to be fighting these fires. We've got a lot of brave men and women on the front lines doing it.

Secondly, I got a briefing from the local officials about what your federal government ought to continue to do. Right now, the coordination is good, in terms of fighting the fires. The question is can we help them even more. And so we'll take back the recommendations to Washington. Secretary Chertoff will look very carefully at the recommendations, and then work closely with Senator Chambliss and Senator Martinez about what we can do to help the good people down here.

It's a very difficult period for the people, particularly in southeast Georgia and north Florida. A lot of lives are being affected. I've come down to let the people know that we are concerned about their livelihood and I'm fully aware of the nature of these fires, that we strongly support the efforts being done here to fight these fires, and we wish the people all the best.

In the meantime, we'll be analyzing ways that we can help even further. Thank you.

END 10:29 A.M. EDT