Governor: Air support for fires was lacking

MCCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS

SANTA ANA, Calif. — Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, in an Orange County news conference, acknowledged Saturday that improvements could be made to the state’s deployment of firefighting aircraft, softening his previous stance that criticism about the state’s response was “nonsense.”

“As sad as it is, it takes a disaster to wake everyone,” Schwarzenegger said at the command post for the Santiago Fire on Saturday afternoon. “With any kind of disaster there are things we can do better next time, and we will.”

The governor also warned those responsible for setting the Santiago and other fires: “If I were one of those people who started the fire, I would not sleep soundly right now, because we are right behind you. As a matter of fact, if I would be you, I would turn myself in.”

He acknowledged that air support might have been quicker.