Padilla, Booker Receive Eaton Fire Recovery Update, Visit Residences and Impacted Small Businesses in Altadena
ALTADENA, CA — Today, U.S. Senators Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) and Cory Booker (D-N.J.) joined the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), local leaders, and representatives from the Small Business Administration (SBA), Environmental Protection Agency, and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for a tour and briefing on cleanup and recovery efforts in the aftermath of the devastating Eaton Fire in Altadena. The visit included a stop at the new temporary debris staging site in Altadena that will serve as the location for recycling operations for asbestos-free clean concrete, metal, and vegetative debris. The Senators also visited impacted residential communities and small businesses and pushed for the additional federal disaster aid needed to help Los Angeles rebuild and recover.
With the March 31 deadline for federal relief applications rapidly approaching, the Senators also encouraged affected residents to sign up for federal benefits and assistance, including urgently needed debris removal from residential properties. The deadline includes all disaster-related relief like FEMA Financial Assistance, SBA Disaster Loans for Physical Damage, Army Corps no-cost fire debris removal, and Disaster Unemployment Assistance. Padilla and Senator Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) successfully pushed FEMA to extend the application deadline for federal disaster assistance for survivors of the Los Angeles fires. Applications for disaster aid can be submitted at disasterassistance.gov and recovery.lacounty.gov.
“California faces a long, difficult road to recovery, and we must continue to fight for the resources our communities need,” said Senator Padilla. “Our message to President Trump and the nation is clear: do not forget about Los Angeles. As we saw on the ground today, on everything from FEMA financial assistance and SBA disaster loans, to unemployment assistance and no-cost debris removal, it’s going to take a whole-of-government effort to help Los Angeles recover. And a reminder for the thousands of Angelenos affected by these fires, please apply for disaster assistance by March 31, and know that I will keep fighting for additional federal relief with no strings attached.”
“Communities and families across Los Angeles County have been devastated by the Eaton Fire, and as New Jerseyans know all too well from our experience with Superstorm Sandy, the road to recovery is just beginning,” said Senator Booker. “I’m grateful to Senator Padilla for inviting me to join him today to visit impacted businesses and neighborhoods, and to assess the cleanup and recovery efforts happening across the city. Together, we will fight in Congress for a swift delivery of resources and aid for every person, family, and business impacted by the fires. Californians stood by New Jerseyans in our time of need, and we will stand by them. Angelenos deserve the aid that was promised–free of conditions and partisanship.”
Fueled by wind gusts of up to 100 miles per hour, the Eaton Fire burned more than 14,000 acres and almost 10,000 structures, claiming at least 17 lives and forcing tens of thousands of residents to evacuate. In total, the Los Angeles County fires burned more than 40,000 acres — an area almost three times the size of Manhattan.
Senator Padilla has fought relentlessly to secure and protect Southern Californians’ access to desperately needed disaster relief aid. In the immediate aftermath of the Los Angeles fires, Padilla and Senator Schiff led 47 bipartisan members of the California Congressional delegation in successfully urging President Biden to grant Governor Gavin Newsom’s request for a major disaster declaration to expedite timely relief to Los Angeles County residents impacted by these disasters. Last month, Padilla, Schiff, and Representatives Ken Calvert (R-Calif.-41) and Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.-18) led the entire bipartisan California Congressional delegation in urging Senior Congressional leadership to provide additional disaster relief funding and resources to help Los Angeles County communities rebuild. Padilla recently blasted the Republicans’ spending bill for not including the disaster relief funding California needs. Padilla previously delivered remarks on the Senate floor urging his Republican colleagues and President Trump to provide essential disaster recovery aid to California without conditioning it on the passage of partisan legislation.
Video of Senator Padilla and Senator Booker’s opening remarks is available here, and their closing remarks are available here. Footage of their remarks can be downloaded here.
Additional photos from the event are available here.
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