SACRAMENTO — Republican officials on Friday criticized the Davis administration for drawing attention to the fact that the Bush administration had taken six months to deny Gov. Gray Davis' request for emergency money to clear dead and dying trees from Southern California forests now ravaged by wildfires.
The Republican officials noted that the governor had twice rejected a 2002 request from San Bernardino County to declare a state emergency and provide money for tree removal before Davis declared a state emergency last March and began seeking federal emergency assistance.
"It's offensive to me that the Davis administration would be pointing a finger of blame during this crisis we're facing," said Fred Aguiar, a San Bernardino county supervisor.
He was reacting to a Times story on Friday that reported the Bush administration's decision to deny federal emergency assistance to California for tree-clearing. The Federal Emergency Management Agency notified Davis and members of Congress from California on Oct. 24 that it was rejecting the request for $430 million to remove trees left dead and dying by an infestation of tiny bark beetles.
The federal decision was based on two factors, said FEMA spokesman Chad Kolton: California was already receiving more than $40 million in federal assistance from various sources and a federal emergency had never been declared to prevent a potential disaster.
Davis and Gov.-elect Arnold Schwarzenegger on Friday agreed to appeal FEMA's rejection of California's emergency request for assistance, said Davis press secretary Steven Maviglio.
The unprecedented nature of San Bernardino County's request for a preemptive state declaration of emergency was one of the reasons the Davis administration twice rejected the county's appeal for state assistance, said Louis Blumberg, spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
"I was beating up the Davis administration to put resources in" to clear dead and dying trees, state Sen. Jim Brulte (R-Rancho Cucamonga) said Friday in a telephone interview.
"We were pushing on it and they rejected the declaration of emergency," Brulte said.
The governor and administration officials sought to downplay the dispute over the FEMA rejection.
