The Trump administration has turned down California Gov. Gavin Newsom's (D) request for a federal disaster declaration for six wildfires that have ravaged the state since August, the governor's Office of Emergency Services said Thursday evening. The six fires include the largest in California's recorded history, the August Complex fire. Newsom had requested the major disaster declaration in a Sept. 28 letter, and the Trump administration said no late Wednesday or Thursday.
A disaster declaration frees up federal resources, including money, for rebuilding and damage mitigation, and California will likely appeal the decision. In his letter, Newsom estimated that the infrastructure damage from the fires would top $229 million, but he did not request a specific dollar amount because some of the fires are still burning and damage assessments aren't complete. "The longer it takes for California and its communities to recover, the more severe, devastating, and irreversible the economic impacts will be," he wrote. "Californians are exhausted."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
The secrets of lab-grown chocolateUnder The Radar Chocolate created 'in a Petri dish' could save crisis-hit industry
-
Trade war with China threatens U.S. economyFeature Trump's tariff battle with China is hitting U.S. businesses hard and raising fears of a global recession
-
Corruption: The road to crony capitalismFeature Trump's tariff pause sent the stock market soaring — was it insider trading?
-
US proposes eroding species protectionsSpeed Read The Trump administration wants to change the definition of 'harm' in the Environmental Protection Act to allow habitat damage
-
Severe storms kill dozens across central USSpeed Read At least 40 people were killed over the weekend by tornadoes, wildfires and dust storms
-
Rain helps Los Angeles wildfires, risks mudslidesSpeed Read The weather provided relief for crews working to contain wildfires, though rain over a burn area ups the chances of flooding and mudslides
-
Death toll rises in LA fires as wind lull allows progressSpeed Read At least 24 people have died and 100,000 people are under mandatory evacuation orders
-
Biden cancels Italy trip as raging LA fires spreadSpeed Read The majority of the fires remain 0% contained
-
Fast-spreading Los Angeles wildfires spark panicSpeed Read About 30,000 people were under an evacuation order as the inferno spread
-
Hundreds feared dead in French Mayotte cycloneSpeed Read Cyclone Chido slammed into Mayotte, a French territory in the Indian Ocean
-
Thirteen missing after Red Sea tourist boat sinksSpeed Read The vessel sank near the Egyptian coastal town of Marsa Alam
