OAN Staff Abril Elfi
1:00 PM – Tuesday, January 14, 2025
President Joe Biden has announced that the federal government will be providing one-time checks of $770 to victims of the Southern California wildfires.
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On Monday, during a press briefing, Biden announced that victims of the fires would receive the one-time payment in order to pay for essentials like baby formula, prescriptions, clothes, food, and more.
“We’re not waiting until those fires are over to start helping the victims. We’re getting them help right now, as you all know. People impacted by these fires are going to receive a one-time payment of $770, one-time payment, so they quickly purchase things like water, baby formula and prescriptions,” Biden said.
Biden noted that almost 6,000 victims have already registered for the program, and $5.1 million has been sent out to affected residents so far.
According to White House officials, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) activated its “Critical Needs Assistance Program” last week, which allows for the initial one-time payment of $770 to those affected.
Biden also stated that there is 14% containment of the wildfires in Pacific Palisades, 33% containment in Pasadena, and 100% containment in Ventura.
Last week, the president announced that the U.S. federal government would cover 100% of the cost of California’s effort to fight the fires for 180 days. Biden has also called on Congress to step up with more funding for Angelinos.
“It’s going to cost tens of billions of dollars to get Los Angeles to what it was,” Biden said during a briefing with Vice President Kamala Harris and emergency officials. “We are going to need Congress to step up with the funding.”
FEMA administrator Deanne Criswell announced that a total of 33,000 people impacted by the California fires had requested federal assistance so far, and that she is expecting numbers to keep rising.
She continued, stating that approximately 700 to 800 people were currently staying in eight emergency shelters as a result of the fires. Criswell also noted that many residents had found shelter with other family and friends, or in hotel rooms. Through the federal government’s disaster declaration, people staying in hotels could be reimbursed later on for the costs, she concluded.
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