On January 8, President Joseph R. Biden declared the existence of a major disaster in the State of California and ordered Federal aid to supplement State, tribal, and local recovery efforts in the areas affected by wildfires and straight-line winds from January 7, 2025 and continuing. 

The Federal funding is available to those individuals in Los Angeles County that were affected. Assistance can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster.

The funding is available to State, tribal, and eligible local governments and certain private non profit organizations on a cost-sharing basis for emergency protective measures and debris removal. Federal funding is also available on a cost-sharing basis for hazard mitigation measures statewide. 

Mr. Curtis Brown of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was appointed to coordinate the federal recovery operations in the affected areas. 

On January 14, FEMA  Administrator Deanne Criswell announced that President Biden increased the disaster assistance available to the state of California. The President authorized the increase of the federal cost-share from 75% to 100% for a period of 180 days of the state’s choosing within the first 270 days of the incident period. The federal funding is available for Individual Assistance, Public Assistance, the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program and other needs assistance for total eligible costs.

Residents and business owners who sustained losses in the designated areas can begin applying for assistance at www.DisasterAssistance.gov, or by calling 800-621-FEMA (3362), or by using the FEMA App. Anyone using a relay service, such as video relay service (VRS), captioned telephone service or others, can give FEMA the number for that service.