Alex Padilla U.S. Senator for California

CA Delegation to Congressional Leadership: “We urge you to ensure Los Angeles County has the resources it needs to recover and rebuild in an upcoming disaster relief bill.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senators Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff (both D-Calif.), along with the Chairs of the Republican and Democratic Congressional Delegations — 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 after the recent devastating fires.

At the urging of Padilla, Schiff, Calvert, Lofgren, and a bipartisan group of 45 other California Members of Congress, former President Biden issued a major disaster declaration in response to the fires on January 8, 2025. Although federal support so far has helped, the extensive damage caused by the Los Angeles fires will require additional federal assistance, coordination, and funding for short- and long-term recovery and rebuilding efforts.

“The tremendous task of rebuilding is well underway with Phase 1 removal of household hazardous materials from properties destroyed or heavily damaged by the Eaton and Palisades fires,” wrote the lawmakers. “However, the road to full recovery is long, and while the response from the federal government has been incredibly helpful to date, additional funding and resources will be needed.”

“Just as the federal government has come to the aid of communities impacted by wildfires across the western United States, tornados in the Midwest, ice storms in Texas, or hurricanes in the Southeast, we should once again support the recovery of the impacted families, businesses, and communities in Los Angeles County,” continued the lawmakers. “Therefore, we urge you to ensure Los Angeles County has the resources it needs to recover and rebuild in an upcoming disaster relief bill.”

Fueled by wind gusts of up to 100 miles per hour, the Los Angeles County fires burned more than 40,000 acres — an area almost three times the size of Manhattan. The fires destroyed over 16,000 structures, forced tens of thousands of residents to evacuate, and took at least 29 lives. At one point, California mobilized more than 15,000 personnel including firefighters, guard service members, highway patrol officers, and transportation teams to support disaster response.

In addition to Padilla, Schiff, Calvert, and Lofgren, the letter was also signed by Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.-11) and Representatives Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.-33), Nanette Barragán (D-Calif.-44), Ami Bera (D-Calif.-06), Julia Brownley (D-Calif.-26), Salud Carbajal (D-Calif.-24), Judy Chu (D-Calif.-28), Gilbert R. Cisneros, Jr. (D-Calif.-31), Lou Correa (D-Calif.-46), Jim Costa (D-Calif.-21), Mark DeSaulnier (D-Calif.-10), Vince Fong (R-Calif.-20), Laura Friedman (D-Calif.-30), John Garamendi (D-Calif.-08), Robert Garcia (D-Calif.-42), Jimmy Gomez (D-Calif.-34), Adam Gray (D-Calif.-13), Josh Harder (D-Calif.-09), Jared Huffman (D-Calif.-02), Darrell Issa (R-Calif.-48), Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.-51), Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-Calif.-37), Ro Khanna (D-Calif.-17), Kevin Kiley (R-Calif.-03), Young Kim (R-Calif.-40), Doug LaMalfa (R-Calif.-01), Mike Levin (D-Calif.-49), Sam Liccardo (D-Calif.-16), Ted Lieu (D-Calif.-36), Doris Matsui (D-Calif.-07), Tom McClintock (R-Calif.-05), Dave Min (D-Calif.-47), Kevin Mullin (D-Calif.-15), Jay Obernolte (R-Calif.-23), Jimmy Panetta (D-Calif.-19), Scott Peters (D-Calif.-50), Luz Rivas (D-Calif.-29), Raul Ruiz (D-Calif.-25), Linda Sánchez (D-Calif.-38), Brad Sherman (D-Calif.-32), Lateefah Simon (D-Calif.-12), Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.-14), Mark Takano (D-Calif.-39), Mike Thompson (D-Calif.-04), Norma Torres (D-Calif.-35), Derek Tran (D-Calif.-45), David Valadao (R-Calif.-22), Juan Vargas (D-Calif.-52), Maxine Waters (D-Calif.-43), and George Whitesides (D-Calif.-27).

Yesterday, Padilla, Schiff, Calvert, and Lofgren pushed the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to extend the application deadline for federal disaster assistance for victims of the Los Angeles fires.

Full text of the letter is available here and below:

Dear Leader Thune, Speaker Johnson, Leader Schumer, and Leader Jeffries,

We write to highlight the ongoing response and recovery from the major disaster that was declared on Jan 8, 2025, in Los Angeles County. The tremendous task of rebuilding is well underway with Phase 1 removal of household hazardous materials from properties destroyed or heavily damaged by the Eaton and Palisades fires. However, the road to full recovery is long, and while the response from the federal government has been incredibly helpful to date, additional funding and resources will be needed.

Fueled by wind gusts of up to 100 miles per hour, the Los Angeles County wildfires burned over 40,000 acres, destroyed over 16,000 structures, forced tens of thousands of residents to evacuate, and killed more than two dozen people. At one point, California mobilized more than 15,000 personnel including firefighters, guard service members, highway patrol officers and transportation teams to aid in the response effort. For comparison, these wildfires burned an area almost three times the size of Manhattan, and the extensive damage caused by the wildfires requires additional federal assistance, coordination, and funding.

These wildfires have caused widespread damage across Los Angeles County, including to federal and state highways and roads, critical public infrastructure, homes, and buildings. The historic destruction caused by these wildfires requires additional federal funding and support. Just as the federal government has come to the aid of communities impacted by wildfires across the western United States, tornados in the Midwest, ice storms in Texas, or hurricanes in the Southeast, we should once again support the recovery of the impacted families, businesses, and communities in Los Angeles County. Therefore, we urge you to ensure Los Angeles County has the resources it needs to recover and rebuild in an upcoming disaster relief bill.

Thank you for your consideration of this request.

Sincerely,