It was previously reported that the Trump Administration had denied California’s request for federal assistance for six disastrous September wildfires. However, the Administration has since reversed that decision. This afternoon, Governor Newsom announced that the President has approved California’s request for a Major Disaster Declaration in order to provide aid to the State. In his letter to President Trump on September 28, Governor Newsom requested that he declare a major disaster in the seven impacted counties, including Madera, Mendocino, and Siskiyou. The fires included in the request were: the Creek Fire (Fresno and Madera), the Oak Fire (Mendocino), the Bobcat Fire (Los Angeles), the El Dorado Fire (San Bernardino), the Valley Fire (San Diego), the Slater Fire (Siskiyou), the Devil Fire (Siskiyou), the Red Salmon Fire (Siskiyou), and the Fox Fire (Siskiyou). The State did not ask for a dollar amount at the time of the request because the fires were still active at the time of the letter. When addressing the issue of resource availability, the letter stated, “Californians are exhausted…Many of the counties impacted by the wildfires are still recovering from previous devastating wildfires, storms and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.” The Declaration will provide funding for state, tribal, and local governments in the response, recovery, and protection of the impacted communities.
