McCarthy reiterates pledge to help California respond, recover from natural disasters

U.S. Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) this week reaffirmed his commitment to ensuring that California has enough federal resources on hand to deal with natural disasters.

“Proactively having a plan in place is crucial to reducing the devastation of natural disasters and I will continue fighting to ensure that our state always has abundant resources to effectively and swiftly respond to an emergency,” said Rep. McCarthy, who serves as House Minority Leader.

The congressman earlier this week met with Mark Ghilarducci, director of the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (OES), on Capitol Hill and ensured him that there would be continued, immediate and long-term federal response and support on hand to help Californians, who have faced numerous natural disasters during the last several years. 

The two also discussed emergency preparation efforts and Rep. McCarthy learned more about his home state’s emergency prevention and detection plans for a large-scale crisis.

“Director Mark Ghilarducci of the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services is an old friend who I’ve known for many years,” said Rep. McCarthy. “I thank him for his steadfast commitment to protecting Californians through robust preparedness strategies and disaster mitigation.”

In 2016, for example, the Erskine Fire ripped through McCarthy’s congressional district for several weeks, becoming the largest fire to devastate Kern County and one of the worst in California’s history.

Ghilarducci’s office “was there each step of the way providing every resource imaginable,” Rep. McCarthy recalled, adding that without such immediate action and support, the fire would have been much worse and caused even more damage.

“The Erskine Fire left a painful memory in our community —309 buildings were destroyed and two lives were sadly lost — Byron and Gladys McKaig. We must honor their memory by always being prepared for the possibility of unexpected threats, so that future lives can be saved,” said Rep. McCarthy.