California Gains Federal Support to Tackle the Eaton Fire Crisis in Los Angeles County

The Eaton Fire ignited at 6:23 p.m. on Tuesday evening in the Altadena/Pasadena area, specifically near Altadena Drive and Midwick Drive. Over 400 acres have been scorched, necessitating the compulsory evacuation of 19,000 individuals and evacuation alerts for an additional 22,000 people. Approximately 8,200 structures are at risk.

The FMAG, accessible through the President’s Disaster Relief Fund on a cost-share basis, will aid local, state, and tribal organizations engaged in combating the fire to request 75 percent reimbursement for their qualified fire suppression expenditures.

Earlier on Tuesday, Governor Newsom visited Pacific Palisades for a briefing regarding the Palisades Fire, where he declared a state of emergency to further assist the communities affected by this fire and announced that California has acquired a Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG) from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to ensure the availability of essential resources to combat the fire raging in Pacific Palisades.

Starting Sunday, the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services sanctioned the prepositioning of 65 fire engines, as well as over 120 additional firefighting assets and personnel across Los Angeles, Orange, Santa Barbara, Ventura, Riverside, San Bernardino, and San Diego counties, with CAL FIRE relocating firefighting resources to Southern California, which includes an additional 45 engines and six hand crews assigned to the seven impacted counties.

Californians are encouraged to remain alert and adhere to local authorities’ directives as extreme fire weather persists through Thursday. Visit ready.ca.gov for tips on disaster preparedness.