President Bush visits Mount Lemmon

President Bush this morning said fire hazards in America's forests is, "a product of decades of brush and small trees being allowed to grow without thinning. We better get after it with good, sound forest management policies."

Bush spoke from Inspiration Rock in the Coronado National Forest, overlooking the spot where the nearly 85,000-acre Aspen fire started.

Forest thinning projects make a "gargantuan difference" in whether fire consumes a lot of property, he said.

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President Bush wrapped up his three-hour visit to the Tucson area, flying out on Air Force One at 12:34 p.m. Monday.

He used the trip to criticize past forest policies and to call on Congress to pass his Healthy Forests Initiative, as he stood against a dramatic backdrop of charred trees on Mount Lemmon.

"We have an obligation to help people fight fires in America," he said, speaking to local dignitaries and national and local journalists gathered at Inspiration Rock, with damage from this summer's 84,000-acre Aspen Fire all around.

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