[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 8] [Extensions of Remarks] [Pages 11184-11185] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]TRIBUTE TO SUMMIT FIRE VICTIMS ______ HON. MICHAEL M. HONDA of california in the house of representatives Tuesday, June 3, 2008 Mr. HONDA. Madam Speaker, I rise today to express my condolences to those affected by the Summit Fire in the Santa Cruz Mountains on the Santa Clara/Santa Cruz County line, which thankfully has not claimed lives, but destroyed 36 residences and 18 outbuildings. Over 3,000 personnel from across the State were summoned to fight the fire which burned more than 4000 acres. My heart goes out to the 12 firefighters who were injured during the response and their families. I want to commend Governor Schwarzenegger, the California Office of Emergency Services, Cal Fire, the Santa Clara and Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Departments, the Air National Guard, the National Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration and the countless first responders for their swift response to the fire. I especially want to thank Cal Fire Division Chief Joe Waterman and Tom Maruyama, Deputy Director of Response and Recovery for Office of [[Page 11185]] Emergency Services for briefing me on the fire containment plan and the State's response and recovery efforts. The seamless communication between ground and air crews from various local agencies and departments further exemplifies California as a model State for disaster response and interoperability. I and my esteemed colleague Rep. Anna Eshoo are closely monitoring the recovery effort and remain in close contact with State authorities. We are hopeful that the rebuilding process can begin and that the residents of the affected areas will be able to resume their normal activities. ____________________