WASHINGTON — As firefighters make progress containing six major wildfires in Southern California, Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Deanne Criswell said Friday she is confident the agency has sufficient funds to help the state with its recovery efforts and that assistance will continue through the transition into President-elect Donald Trump's term. 

What You Need To Know

  • The Federal Emergency Management Agency is confident it has sufficient funds to help California recover from several recent wildfires

  • The agency has $27 billion in its disaster relief fund

  • FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell said it was too early to estimate the cost of recovery from the wildfires

  • She expressed confidence in FEMA's ability to continue providing assistance to wildfire survivors through the Trump presidency

“Recovery from these fires is going to be complex,” Criswell said Friday during a White House briefing with reporters. “I’ve seen many disasters throughout my four years in this role. This is certainly one of the worst that I have seen.”

She said it was too early to estimate the cost of recovery from major wildfires fueled by 100-mph winds that are estimated to have burned at least 10,000 structures in recent days, including homes, schools, religious institutions and small businesses. She would only say losses are in the “billions.”

FEMA currently has about $27 billion in its disaster relief fund after Congress passed a temporary funding bill in December. Criswell expressed confidence in FEMA’s ability to continue supporting California’s wildfire recovery after President-elect Donald Trump takes office in 10 days.

“Our regional administrator here has worked many fires across several different administrations, and we are going to work day in and day out to continue to support them through the authorities that are given to us through the Stafford Act,” Criswell said, referring to a 1979 law that allows the federal government to assist states and individuals affected by disasters.

She reiterated President Joe Biden’s commitment to reimburse California for 100% of its expenses to fight the wildfires and support its recovery over the next 180 days, saying it is legally guaranteed under the Stafford Act.

FEMA has a team dedicated to working with the Trump transition team and providing it with daily briefings, Criswell said.

On Friday, Biden said his team has been briefing “the incoming administration on what they’re going to have to do. We have an awful lot of experience with this stuff, unfortunately. Climate change has been real. It’s been real for the last four years of our administration. We’ve seen devastating impacts.”

Already, the Biden administration has approved a major disaster declaration request from California, allowing wildfire survivors to immediately access federal assistance funds and other resources. FEMA also approved fire management assistance grants to reimburse California for firefighting costs.

On Friday, White House Spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said the Biden administration has dispatched five U.S. Forest Service air tankers, 20 federal firefighting helicopters and deployed two air firefighting systems from both the California and Nevada National Guards to help fight the wildfires, as well as 10 Navy helicopters with water buckets that are currently en route from San Diego.