White House Reverses Decision to Reject Wildfire Aid to California

By Mary Anne R. Oct 17 2020, 01:15 AM EDT

The state of California will be receiving a wildfire relief assistance after the White House's reversal in its earlier decision of rejecting the aid.

This was according to California Governor Gavin Newsom, who announced Friday that he just got off the phone with President Donald Trump and has approved the request.

"Grateful for his quick response," Newsom said in a USA Today report.

Before a federal aid was granted to the state of California, press secretary of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Lizzie Litzow, said the damage assessment determined that the fires were not severe for an aid approval.

California has asked for federal assistance to support the state's physical and economic recovery from the wildfires that have burned about two million acres.

The Creek Fire ravaged Fresno and Madera counties; the Valley Fire affected the San Diego County; the El Dorado Fire in San Bernardino County; and the Slater Fire in Siskiyou County.

Apart from these areas, this round of aid was also requested for the Oak Fire in Mendocino County and the Bobcat Fire in Los Angeles County.

The Creek Fire is the state's largest single fire, without the fire complexes. According to Newsom, the Creek Fire alone damaged more than 550 structures and forced about 25,000 people to evacuate.

Political Sparring

The first relief aid request was rejected after FEMA granted other fire-related relief to California in August. The move raised questions about the Trump administration's motives.

During a Pennsylvania campaign rally in August, Trump implied that he might reject California's wildfire aid requests.

"Maybe we're just going to have to make them pay for it because they don't listen to us," he said in an NPR report.

Newsom noted that the increasing frequency and intensity of wildfires are proof of global warming. However, Trump pointed the blame to forest management.

The president has since criticized California's poor management of the forests.

Changes in Decision

Neither Newsom nor the White House immediately commented on why the administration changed its decision.

California's aid request was not supported by relevant data, according to White House spokesman Judd Deere.

In his letter to Trump requesting the latest aid, Newsom estimated around $346 million for the wildfires' recovery efforts, with $200 million to be allotted for the Creek Fire.

California Wildfires

The California wildfires have caused the release of a red flag warning in some northern parts of the state on Wednesday.

Cal Fire tweeted that a red flag warning will be in effect to areas of Northern California due to critical fire weather. The agency said that during these times, extreme caution is advised as a simple spark can cause a major wildfire, as per a Fox News report.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, around 60 percent of California's forested lands are publicly owned. This total to over 33 million acres.

Meanwhile, FEMA has also previously rejected requests from other states aside from California. It includes an application from the state of Texas requesting for $190 million in aid for tornado damage from last year.

Reports also said that requests from the states of Minnesota and South Dakota have also been rejected.