California secures federal assistance to support response to 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.”

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.