Mayor Steve Bach, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and others speak at Coronado High School.

Two members of the President’s cabinet visited Colorado Springs Tuesday. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack both spoke at a press conference at Coronado High School.

Napolitano and Vilsack both voiced their thanks to the firefighters involved in the Waldo Canyon Fire and answered some questions about how the Federal Government is going to help. Napolitano, who oversees FEMA as the head of the Department of Homeland Security, said that the President’s disaster declaration will allow the agency to provide federal aid including unemployment and counseling.

FEMA crews are already in the area assessing the damage and determining if other funding will be made available.

Secretary Vilsack, whose department oversees the U.S. Forest Service, was asked about the response to this fire and the efficiency of the equipment. "I’m confident that we had everything we needed to get the job done and although we lost more than 300 homes thousands were also saved,” he said.

After leaving Colorado Springs, the secretaries headed to Idaho to visit the National Interagency Fire Center.