Federal Aid Secured to Combat Palisades Fire in Los Angeles County
On January 7, 2025, Governor Gavin Newsom publicized that additional resources had been secured from the federal government to aid in the efforts against the escalating Palisades Fire in Los Angeles County. The news was announced from the epicenter of the fire, the Pacific Palisades, where the Governor was present lending support to the firefighting operations.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has approved a Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG) for California. FMAGs are a crucial part of FEMA’s disaster response coordination efforts. They are designed to help with the mitigation, management, and control of fires on publicly or privately owned forests or grasslands, which threaten such destruction as would constitute a major disaster. The approved grant will help with the availability of much-needed resources to suppress the ongoing fire.
The Governor expressed his gratitude to the firefighters and other first responders who were swift to respond to the wildfire. He also mentioned that the state had taken proactive measures by prepositioning dozens of firefighting engines and personnel ahead of the fire threat. These arrangements were made possible due to the secured funding from the federal government. He urged the Southern Californians to heed the advice of local officials and trusted sources of information during this perilous time.
The Palisades Fire was first reported at around 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday in Pacific Palisades. Since then, it has consumed more than 1,260 acres. A total of 6,000 structures are at risk, and evacuation orders have been issued for the Palisades area.
The FMAG is provided through the President’s Disaster Relief Fund on a cost-share basis and will allow local, state, and tribal agencies responding to the fire to apply for 75 percent reimbursement of their eligible fire suppression costs.
Starting from Sunday, the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services approved the prepositioning of 65 fire engines, along with over 120 additional firefighting resources and personnel in Los Angeles, Orange, Santa Barbara, Ventura, Riverside, San Bernardino, and San Diego counties. In addition, Cal FIRE moved firefighting resources to Southern California, which included 45 more engines and six hand crews to the seven affected counties.
Southern Californians have been urged to remain vigilant and follow the instructions from local authorities due to the critical fire weather conditions expected in many areas of Santa Barbara, Ventura, Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Orange, Riverside, and San Diego counties through Thursday.