The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will reimburse California for costs associated with hiring additional firefighters and controlling the wildfires that have raged in Southern California.
News of the Fire Control Assistance Grants broke on Tuesday, and in the evening the White House released a statement from President Joe Biden confirming the move. FEMA later confirmed the measures on Wednesday, in an announcement detailing the grants.
The grant will provide federal reimbursement of up to 75% of “eligible firefighting costs” incurred by the state, as California seeks to bolster its firefighting capabilities and battle wildfires that have killed at least two people and driven thousands from their homes. Eligible costs include the costs of camps, equipment, supplies, supplies and assembly or dismantling efforts resulting from putting out fires.
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The FEMA logo next to a photo of a California firefighter battling wildfires raging in the southern part of the state. (AP/Getty)
“My administration will do everything possible to support the response,” Biden said Tuesday, announcing the funding news. “I am constantly informed about the wildfires west of Los Angeles. My team and I are in contact with state and local officials, and I have provided any government assistance needed to help suppress the devastating Pacific Palisades fire.”
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California’s firefighter shortage has been an ongoing problem for several years in California. Before the news about the FEMA grant, the Los Angeles Fire Department was forced to request that all off-duty firefighters in the area volunteer to help. The US Forest Service this summer increased its staffing levels in California for the first time in five years, but the number of wildland firefighters is still far lower than it used to be despite the state seeing an increase in the number and severity of wildfires. in recent years, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
Firefighters in California battled a blaze that started Tuesday morning and continued into Wednesday with no sign of getting under control soon as thousands evacuated.
Meanwhile, in October, the US Forest Service announced the end of prescribed burning to control wildfires due to staff shortages.
California’s decision to end prescribed burning came after Biden opposed a bipartisan bill aimed at rolling back the process of implementing forest management projects, such as prescribed burning, in California. In a September statement outlining opposition to the bill, the Biden administration said certain provisions serve to undermine important environmental protections.
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Forest Service firefighters burn a clearing on the grounds of the High Desert Museum, near Bend, Oregon. The prescribed burns are part of a major effort in wildlands across the West to prepare for the worst fire season on record.
FEMA grants aimed at strengthening the state’s firefighting forces during the raging wildfires were initiated following requests from the state of California. FEMA reported that at the time of the applications, wildfires had burned more than 700 acres of private and public lands around the Pacific Palisades, San Fernando Valley and Santa Calrita Valley areas.
FEMA added that more than 45,000 homes in the area are threatened by the ongoing fire.
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A spokesperson for the agency told Fox News Digital that its regional office remains in contact with local authorities in California, and that the agency has also dispatched a FEMA liaison officer to the area to help monitor the evolving situation. The spokesperson added that the agency urges residents to listen to local officials and provides a phone number to send messages if people need a safe place to stay.
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