Governor Jerry Brown was at the Incident Command Post at the fairgrounds in Anderson on Saturday. After surveying fire damage he addressed the press, saying that cleaning up after the Carr Fire is going to present a major challenge for California. The Governor said Saturday he had officially requested a major disaster declaration from the White House. He said petty partisanship is irrelevant and it’s tragedies like this that bring people together as our interests converge on a higher level. The major disaster declaration was granted before the day was over. That means individuals are eligible for additional programs, including crisis counseling, unemployment assistance, food aid and legal services. It also makes federal funds available for infrastructure repair. There are 18 major fires burning in California, including well over 200,000 acres in the Mendocino Complex. Brown said it’s time to reevaluate some things, such as how we build our homes, where we build them and how we allot fire resources. He said we’re pretty smart and we’re pretty rich, but in terms of the natural world we always have a lot to learn. He added that as free American citizens, we must take action.