Over the last 24 hours, U.S. Forest Service personnel have suppressed 50 fire starts
Under President Biden's leadership, the Biden-Harris Administration is continuing to support life-saving and life-sustaining response efforts for the wildfires impacting Los Angeles, California. President Biden continues to be regularly briefed by his team, including this morning by Homeland Security Advisor Liz Sherwood-Randall. Today, President Biden will convene senior White House and Administration officials for a briefing on the full Federal response he has directed to the wildfires. The situation remains extremely dangerous, and the Administration continues to urge residents to heed the warnings of local officials and evacuate immediately if told to do so.
This morning, in response to the significant outlay of personnel and equipment in support of fire suppression efforts, the National Preparedness Level was raised to prioritize additional suppression resources, including wildland fire crews and other personnel, engines, helicopters, airtankers and other aircraft, and other specialized heavy equipment, such as bull dozers to build fire lines.
Over the last 24 hours, U.S. Forest Service personnel have suppressed 50 fire starts in California. Additionally, the Hollywood Fire has been suppressed, and the evacuation order has been lifted. Additional containment progress is being made on other active fires. CalFire is actively working to supply generators to power water pumps throughout the area to ensure sufficient water to support suppression efforts.
Yesterday, President Biden approved a Major Disaster declaration for California, allowing impacted communities and survivors to immediately access funds and resources to get through the coming days and begin to recover from the devastation. The Administration is in regular contact with state and local officials, including Governor Newsom, Mayor Bass, their teams, and other state and local officials throughout the impacted areas.
Consistent with the President's direction for a robust and well-coordinated Federal response, the Administration is continuing to support ongoing response efforts, including:
Federal Personnel and Resources
At the President's Direction, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator Deanne Criswell is in Los Angeles today to meet with state and local officials and firefighting personnel to assess immediate and anticipated needs. FEMA has a team embedded at the California State Emergency Operations Center to provide hands-on assistance to the ongoing response efforts. FEMA, in partnership with the Department of Defense, has also established a staging area at March Air Force Base to help pre-position supplies and equipment to meet immediate needs. Over the coming days, FEMA will develop options to support lodging for people who have been displaced and cannot return to their homes. FEMA has an Incident Management Assistance Team and a Mobile Emergency Response Support team deploying to Los Angeles County today with additional teams at the ready.
Mobilizing Fire Suppression Assets
The Federal government is continuing to support local firefighting efforts with three additional CL-415 aerial firefighting aircraft and nine additional helicopters. These supplement the five tankers and 10 firefighting helicopters already in place through the National Interagency Fire Center. The Federal government is also coordinating with the Canadian Interagency Fire Center, which will provide additional two CL-415s from Quebec, Canada, that are expected to move into Southern California on Monday. The State of Colorado mobilized their multi-mission fixed wing aircraft to Southern California yesterday to assist with wildfire detection and provide real-time updates to firefighters on the ground in addition to fielding 50 engine companies to assist with firefighting efforts on the ground. Additionally, the Department of Defense is providing infrared imaging for perimeter mapping of the fires, and at the President's direction has activated all eight of its Modular Airborne Fire Fighting Systems to further support suppression efforts. The first two of those specially equipped aircrafts will be in the air today.
