STEVE INSKEEP, host: It's MORNING EDITION from NPR News. Good morning. I'm Steve Inskeep.</s>LYNN NEARY, host: And I'm Lynn Neary.</s>LYNN NEARY, host: On a tour of Southern California, President Bush met with residents who lost their homes and firefighters who tried to save them.</s>LYNN NEARY, host: President GEORGE W. BUSH: These fires are tough, but you know better than anybody how hard it is. And so we're here to compliment you on your courage and your compassion.</s>LYNN NEARY, host: The president has declared a major disaster in a seven-county region. Losses from the fires total upwards of a billion dollars in San Diego County alone.
President Bush promises swift action and assistance to those in fire-ravaged southern California. Joined by Calif. Gov. Arnold Schwazenegger, he toured the charred remains of neighborhoods and met with distraught residents.