Return to Transcripts main page

American Morning

Interview with FEMA Director Mike Brown

Aired October 31, 2003 - 07:04   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Word comes now that the federal government last week turned down a financial request from Governor Gray Davis in April to clear dead trees now engulfed in flames.
Earlier, I spoke with Mike Brown, the FEMA director for undersecretary for Emergency Preparedness and Response. I asked him if turning down that request was a mistake.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MIKE BROWN, FEMA DIRECTOR: We turned that particular request down because there was other federal money already coming to the state to fight that bark beetle infestation. The federal government was already putting resources into that very issue.

O'BRIEN: Yes, but nevertheless, the amount of money that was coming through those other agencies paled by comparison to the amount that was requested by the Davis administration to the tune of $434 million. Wouldn't it have been smarter in the long run, cost the federal government less, and hence the taxpayers, had FEMA responded more quickly?

BROWN: No, it would not, because even if we had granted all of the money in the world to fight the bark beetle infestation at the time the request came in, that would have done nothing to stop these particular fires. So, I think that issue is something that we really shouldn't be focusing on, but instead focusing on getting these fires put out as quickly as possible and taking care of these victims.

O'BRIEN: A lot of critics would say, though, that FEMA perhaps has a bit of a tombstone mentality here. This perhaps could have been an opportunity to avert the tragedy we're seeing.

BROWN: Again, that's just simply not correct. Federal dollars were going in to go ahead and fight this bark beetle infestation, and regardless of the money that we would have put in, it would have not stopped these particular fires. There is not a tombstone mentality, but a mentality rather that we will mitigate as many disasters as possible prior to them occurring. And we will coordinate with the federal government so that those who are more appropriately dealing with those disasters before they occur are actually dealing with them. And in this case that would be the Forest Service and the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Interior.

O'BRIEN: Was FEMA concerned about setting a precedent, spending a lot of money to prune trees? BROWN: Well, absolutely. That's not something that FEMA traditionally does, is prune trees. But, again, the focus should be there was money coming from the federal government to take care of that particular problem.

O'BRIEN: All right, let's talk about folks who are in need of assistance right now. What are the biggest challenges right now getting assistance to them in a timely way?

BROWN: Well, assistance is coming out very, very well. The governor requested -- both Governor Davis and Governor-elect Schwarzenegger requested as quickly as possible that we establish these disaster recovery centers. We've done two things in that regard. One, within six hours of that request, we had the first disaster recovery set up. But more importantly, we have set up the toll-free number, 800-621-FEMA, which people can use to apply for the disaster aid. That is up immediately.

So, people whose homes have been totally burned out, who don't have transportation, who have a difficult time of dealing with this tragedy can just call that phone number and go ahead and register.

The really good news is, is that money is already going out to these victims almost within hours of those disaster relief centers being set up.

O'BRIEN: There are some who would suggest that perhaps the people who built in these areas, susceptible to fires over the past decade or so, have put themselves in harm's way. And is it appropriate for taxpayers in Peoria to assist them in rebuilding in an area which might be susceptible to fires again?

BROWN: There are many, many people who have built in areas who did all of the smart and right things. They had cleared areas around their homes. They had the right kinds of roofs on. And the important point to make is, even after all of those measures were taken, those fires still destroyed their homes.

This is a huge fire. These fires are raging out of control, and nothing that these people have done to mitigate that should be blamed on them. They took all of the right steps. These fires are simply so huge that nothing would have saved their homes.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: Now, here's that phone number again to contact FEMA if you need to. It is 800-621-FEMA, F-E-M-A.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.







Aired October 31, 2003 - 07:04   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Word comes now that the federal government last week turned down a financial request from Governor Gray Davis in April to clear dead trees now engulfed in flames.
Earlier, I spoke with Mike Brown, the FEMA director for undersecretary for Emergency Preparedness and Response. I asked him if turning down that request was a mistake.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MIKE BROWN, FEMA DIRECTOR: We turned that particular request down because there was other federal money already coming to the state to fight that bark beetle infestation. The federal government was already putting resources into that very issue.

O'BRIEN: Yes, but nevertheless, the amount of money that was coming through those other agencies paled by comparison to the amount that was requested by the Davis administration to the tune of $434 million. Wouldn't it have been smarter in the long run, cost the federal government less, and hence the taxpayers, had FEMA responded more quickly?

BROWN: No, it would not, because even if we had granted all of the money in the world to fight the bark beetle infestation at the time the request came in, that would have done nothing to stop these particular fires. So, I think that issue is something that we really shouldn't be focusing on, but instead focusing on getting these fires put out as quickly as possible and taking care of these victims.

O'BRIEN: A lot of critics would say, though, that FEMA perhaps has a bit of a tombstone mentality here. This perhaps could have been an opportunity to avert the tragedy we're seeing.

BROWN: Again, that's just simply not correct. Federal dollars were going in to go ahead and fight this bark beetle infestation, and regardless of the money that we would have put in, it would have not stopped these particular fires. There is not a tombstone mentality, but a mentality rather that we will mitigate as many disasters as possible prior to them occurring. And we will coordinate with the federal government so that those who are more appropriately dealing with those disasters before they occur are actually dealing with them. And in this case that would be the Forest Service and the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Interior.

O'BRIEN: Was FEMA concerned about setting a precedent, spending a lot of money to prune trees? BROWN: Well, absolutely. That's not something that FEMA traditionally does, is prune trees. But, again, the focus should be there was money coming from the federal government to take care of that particular problem.

O'BRIEN: All right, let's talk about folks who are in need of assistance right now. What are the biggest challenges right now getting assistance to them in a timely way?

BROWN: Well, assistance is coming out very, very well. The governor requested -- both Governor Davis and Governor-elect Schwarzenegger requested as quickly as possible that we establish these disaster recovery centers. We've done two things in that regard. One, within six hours of that request, we had the first disaster recovery set up. But more importantly, we have set up the toll-free number, 800-621-FEMA, which people can use to apply for the disaster aid. That is up immediately.

So, people whose homes have been totally burned out, who don't have transportation, who have a difficult time of dealing with this tragedy can just call that phone number and go ahead and register.

The really good news is, is that money is already going out to these victims almost within hours of those disaster relief centers being set up.

O'BRIEN: There are some who would suggest that perhaps the people who built in these areas, susceptible to fires over the past decade or so, have put themselves in harm's way. And is it appropriate for taxpayers in Peoria to assist them in rebuilding in an area which might be susceptible to fires again?

BROWN: There are many, many people who have built in areas who did all of the smart and right things. They had cleared areas around their homes. They had the right kinds of roofs on. And the important point to make is, even after all of those measures were taken, those fires still destroyed their homes.

This is a huge fire. These fires are raging out of control, and nothing that these people have done to mitigate that should be blamed on them. They took all of the right steps. These fires are simply so huge that nothing would have saved their homes.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: Now, here's that phone number again to contact FEMA if you need to. It is 800-621-FEMA, F-E-M-A.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.