California secures federal assistance to support response to ...

Jan 7, 2025

PACIFIC PALISADES – While on the ground in Pacific Palisades, Governor Gavin Newsom announced Tuesday that California has secured a commitment for additional resources approved by the federal government to assist in battling the Palisades Fire in Los Angeles County.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) approved a Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG) to help ensure the availability of vital resources to suppress the fire.

Our deepest thanks go to our expert firefighters and first responders who jumped quickly into fighting this dangerous fire. In addition to prepositioning dozens of firefighting engines and personnel in advance of the fire threat, we have secured funding from the federal government to fight this destructive, fast-moving fire. I urge those in Southern California to listen to local officials and follow trusted sources of information during this critical and dangerous time.

Governor Gavin Newsom

The Palisades Fire ignited at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday in Pacific Palisades near the Topanga Canyon. More than 1,260 acres have burned, 6,000 structures are threatened, and evacuation orders have been issued for the Palisades area.

The FMAG, which is provided through the President’s Disaster Relief Fund on a cost-share basis, will assist local, state, and tribal agencies responding to the fire to apply for 75 percent reimbursement of their eligible fire suppression costs.

Beginning Sunday, the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services approved the prepositioning of 65 fire engines, as well as more than 120 additional firefighting resources and personnel in Los Angeles, Orange, Santa Barbara, Ventura, Riverside, San Bernardino, and San Diego counties and Cal FIRE moved firefighting resources to Southern California including 45 additional engines and six hand crews to the seven affected counties.

Californians are urged to remain vigilant and follow the instructions of local authorities during critical fire weather conditions expected in many areas of Santa Barbara, Ventura, Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Orange, Riverside, and San Diego counties through Thursday.

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