Trump changes course, OKs California fire relief
Trump’s administration reversed course and approved California’s application for disaster relief funds.
SACRAMENTO >> President Donald Trump’s administration abruptly reversed course and approved California’s application for disaster relief funds to clean up damage from six recent deadly and destructive blazes that have scorched the state, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Friday.
“Just got off the phone with President Trump who has approved our Major Disaster Declaration request. Grateful for his quick response,” Newsom said in a brief statement.
Neither he nor the White House immediately gave details on why the administration shifted positions only hours after it initially denied the state’s request for a declaration that officials said could provide the state with hundreds of millions of dollars.
White House spokesman Judd Deere previously said California’s request “was not supported by the relevant data” needed for approval and that Trump agreed with a recommendation from the Federal Emergency Management Agency administrator to reject the declaration.
“The Governor and (GOP) Leader (Kevin) McCarthy spoke and presented a convincing case and additional
on-the-ground perspective for reconsideration leading the President to approve the declaration,” Deere said in a statement after Trump’s change of heart.
The state had planned to appeal the denial and believed it had a strong case, Brian Ferguson, a spokesman with the governor’s Office of Emergency Services, said before the reversal.
Newsom had asked for the major disaster declaration on Sept. 28 to cover fires in Fresno, Los Angeles, Madera, Mendocino,
San Bernardino, San Diego and Siskiyou counties.
The 30-page request described the disasters and pointed out that damage assessments were incomplete because the fires were still raging and access was difficult.
Federal major disaster declarations allow for costsharing for damage, cleanup and rebuilding between the state and federal governments. They also activate relief programs led by FEMA.
The dispute surfaced as a representative of one fire
stricken area warned that time was running out to clean up debris before rain and snow arrived, bringing the threat of mudslides and toxins being washed into a river watershed.
Denials of relief are rare and Newsom, a Democrat, has previously praised the Republican administration for approving aid related to the fires and the coronavirus pandemic. The White House said Trump quickly approved wildfire relief that was supported by damage estimates.