A lot has been said for the way the state of California and the national government responded to the devastating fires that have been burning in SoCal for the past week. President Bush, who was in California Thursday, assured the people that the federal government was there to help. “We’re not going to forget you in Washington D.C.”

The quick and well-organized response by local authorities as well as national aid contributed to the relatively low death numbers in California. The biggest national disaster since Hurricane Katrina, the SoCal fires will inevitably draw comparisons to Katrina. Although Katrina was a much graver event, there is undoubtedly an improvement in the national response to this tragedy. California has been swift in acting to contain the fires and minimize damage. Bush applauded Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s handling of the fires, hinting that the local government in New Orleans did not take appropriate measures to control the situation. “It makes a big difference when you have someone in the statehouse willing to take the lead,” he said in a news conference.

As of October 24, ten people died from the fires in Southern California. At least 1,836 people lost their lives because of Katrina.

We all know about FEMA and the debacle that the national government made of handling the aftermath of Katrina.

A look into demographics of the two areas:

2006 estimates by the U.S. Census Bureau said that 5% of San Diego County, the home of the two largest fires, was African American. The government received a pat on the back for its prompt response.

The same estimates said that 58.8% of New Orleans was African American. The government’s response to the 2005 disaster of Hurricane Katrina was mismanaged and highly criticized for its slow response.

The national government should certainly be credited for an improved response and learning from their mistakes, but Kanye West’s comments after Hurricane Katrina certainly come to mind: “George Bush doesn’t care about black people.” The demographics would suggest it.