Gov. Palin Offically Requests Disaster Declaration

Gov. Sarah Palin met with FEMA representatives in Fairbanks today and officially requested a federal disaster declaration for Alaska's interior regions which were devastated by spring flooding along the Yukon River and its tributaries. The governor had asked for a preliminary damage assessment from the agency last week. FEMA teams started their survey  in Eagle and have been working their way along the Yukon and Kuskokwim Rivers to the coast:

"The data coming in from the FEMA teams validates the existing state data, and I believe that we have met the threshold for a federal disaster declaration," Governor Palin said. "Hundreds of Alaskans have been displaced and many have had their homes completely destroyed. The next step in a state's rebuilding process after a natural disaster is to request our federal government's assistance."

While in Fairbanks, Gov. Palin attended a Memorial Day weekend ceremony at Veterans Memorial Park to honor Alaska's war veterans who gave their lives for the cause of freedom. She signed some bills into law, including two veterans bills.

The governor then went to North Pole to sign six more bills and returned to Fairbanks to sign a boating bill.

After all of the bill signing was done, Gov. Palin and husband Todd found time to relax a bit on a riverboat ride up the Chena River. From there, it's back to Juneau.

Update: A report on the governor's busy holiday weekend from the Fairbanks News-Miner. The press release from Gov. Palin's office is here.

- JP