A California fire chief was invited to attend President Donald Trump's State of the Union address Tuesday in Washington, D.C.
Ventura County Chief Mark Lorenz was the guest of California Rep. Julia Brownley, the congresswoman announced. He was selected because of his leadership in battling wildfires in 2017 and 2018, Brownley said in a statement.
"About a week ago, I got a call from Congresswoman Brownley's office asking if I would be her guest to the State of the Union, and I was caught off guard," Lorenz told the Ventura County Star. "I wasn't even aware it had been rescheduled yet (because of the recent government shutdown). It's a chance of a lifetime to be here, this is my one and only opportunity to be a part of something like this."
Lorenzen has been a firefighter since the early 1990s. He was promoted to captain in four years and has served as battalion chief, division and deputy chief. He has been Ventura County's chief since 2012.
"The words ‘thank you’ do not even begin to fully convey how deeply our community appreciates not only his service and leadership, but the service of all of our local firefighters and first responders, who sacrifice to protect our community every single day," Brownley said.
Another Ventura County resident also attended the State of the Union. Trisha Pesiri-Dybvik, who lost her home in the 2017 Thomas fire, was the guest of Sen. Kamala Harris.
