President Joe Biden has announced a $770 one-time payment for Los Angeles fire victims amid the historic blazing tearing through the region.
Biden announced the decision during a Monday evening (January 13) meeting with senior officials, convened to address the ongoing federal response to California’s worst wildfires in state history.
“I want to be clear, we are not waiting until those fires are over to start helping the victims,” Biden stated. “We are helping them all right now. People impacted by these fires are going to receive a one-time payment of $770. So, they can quickly purchase things like water, baby formula, and prescriptions. So far, nearly 6,000 survivors have registered to do just that, and $5.1 million has gone out.”
He added, “It’s going to cost tens of billions of dollars to get Los Angeles to what it was. We are going to need Congress to step up with the funding to get this done.”
Biden previously announced the government will cover 100 percent of fire disaster response costs for the next six months.
Affected individuals can apply for assistance at disasterassistance.gov or 1-800-621-3362.
Santa Ana winds are forecasted to create critical fire conditions across Los Angeles and Ventura counties over the next three days, intensifying the battle against the deadly blaze.
The wildfires have claimed at least 24 lives, scorched 40,000 acres in Greater Los Angeles, and destroyed over 12,300 structures, wiping out entire communities, per NBC News.
The Palisades Fire, the largest in the area, has burned more than 23,000 acres and remains only 14% contained, threatening neighborhoods like Brentwood, Encino, and Westwood.
Evacuation orders remain in place for over 90,000 L.A. residents. An additional 89,000 are under evacuation warnings.