Washington – President Biden announced Thursday that the federal government will pay 100% of the disaster response costs of the forest fires destroying neighborhoods in the greater Los Angeles area. The president also said he will ask Congress for more funding to help.
From the White House, the president said during a briefing on the fires that federal funding will cover things like removing debris, setting up temporary shelters and paying first responders. Mr. Biden said he is sending all possible federal resources to Southern California, including 400 federal firefighters and 30 federal firefighting aircraft.
“I told the governor and local officials to spare no effort,” Mr. Biden said, calling the damage “catastrophic.”
The federal government’s 100% disaster response coverage for the next 180 days is an increase from the current 75% the president previously allocated, and more than the 90% that Mr. Biden said California Governor Gavin Newsom, had asked. The damage is expected to be one of the costliest disasters in California history. Three fires are still burning, the president said, and 179,000 people have been forced to evacuate their homes.
Congress may need to approve additional funding to support rebuilding efforts, and the president urged Congress to “act.”
“I am now going to make an appeal to the United States Congress,” he said.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has been working with displaced locals to get them immediate supplies, such as baby formula. The president said the federal government will not only help people there recover, but ultimately rebuild.
“We stand with you,” Mr. Biden said. “We’re not going anywhere. To the firefighters and first responders, you are heroes.”
Top Biden administration officials said that beyond immediate risks to life and safety, their biggest long-term concern is the mental health strain this disaster is placing on residents.
Vice President Kamala Harris, whose Southern California neighborhood was evacuated, called the damage “apocalyptic.” No one was in her home when the neighborhood was evacuated, her press secretary said.
“We’re literally waiting to see which way the wind blows,” she said.
The president also said he has a relative who lives in the affected area, and that relative said more than 200 homes in the area have burned down. The president has not revealed the identity of that family member.
Multiple fires have killed at least five people so far, leveling houses and scorching vegetation and wildlife in their wake. The Palisades fire along the coast is the largest, followed by a fire in Pasadena further out.
Jae C. Hong / AP
Officials said Thursday that more than 1,300 buildings have burned, with 60,000 buildings threatened, as the fires burn largely unattended in Southern California’s densely populated and expensive neighborhoods.
Mr. Biden was scheduled to speak in Thermal, California, earlier this week, but his remarks were canceled due to excessively high winds. He was informed about the fires in California instead. The president canceled a trip to Italy to meet Pope Francis and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni this week so he could focus on the federal response to the fires.
The president approved Newsom’s request for a presidential declaration on major disasters, freeing up federal resources to support the response.
U.S. Forest Service air tankers and 10 federal firefighting helicopters are working to extinguish the fires, and the Forest Service has positioned dozens of fire trucks, the White House said Wednesday. The Pentagon has also readied firefighting personnel and capabilities. Hurricane force Santa Ana windDry conditions and a lack of sufficient water have fueled the fires. Strong winds are expected until Friday.
The president was briefed on Thursday before the disaster about the latest news about the fires and the response funeral of the late President Jimmy Carter.
Asked whether he believes the next administration will give California the help it needs, the president said, “I pray to God that they will.”
