WASHINGTON — Less than 24 hours after returning to the nation’s capital from flame-ravaged Los Angeles himself, President Joe Biden convened key White House and administration officials on Thursday to receive a briefing on the federal response to the wildfires tearing through Southern California. 

What You Need To Know

  • Less than 24 hours after returning to the nation’s capital from flame-ravaged Los Angeles himself, President Joe Biden convened key White House and administration officials on Thursday to receive a briefing on the federal response to the wildfires tearing through Southern California 
  • He announced that the federal government would cover the full cost of recovery efforts, which includes things such as debris removal and temporary shelters, for the first 180 days 
  • Vice President Kamala Harris, a California-native whose Brentwood neighborhood was put under an evacuation order, called the scenes out of Los Angeles “apocalyptic,” adding that the situation is “extremely dynamic"  
  • At least five people have been killed and thousands have been forced to evacuate as fires raged through different areas of the city; Biden noted that three major fires are still burning 

At the top of a nearly hour-long briefing in the Roosevelt Room, Biden pledged to send “every resource we can find” to support local officials, praising the firefighters and other first responders as “heroes.” He announced that the federal government would cover the full cost of recovery efforts, which includes things such as debris removal and temporary shelters, for the first 180 days. 

“I told the governor and local officials: spare no expense to do what they need to do and contain these fires in their communities that have really been devastated," Biden said. "And we're doing literally everything we can at a federal level."

The president said that U.S. Forest Service personnel have suppressed 50 fire starts over the last 24 hours. He added that he is “surging all federal resources possible” to the region, including 400 additional firefighters and more than 30 helicopters and planes. 

Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Deanne Criswell is on the ground as her agency is helping residents find shelter and food. 

Vice President Kamala Harris, a California-native whose Brentwood neighborhood was put under an evacuation order, called the scenes out of Los Angeles “apocalyptic,” adding that the situation is “extremely dynamic.” 

“We are literally waiting to see which way the wind blows,” the vice president said. 

At least five people have been killed and thousands have been forced to evacuate as fires raged through different areas of the city. Biden noted that three major fires are still burning and while there may be a “temporary break” in the powerful winds fueling the flames, they are “likely to continue well into next week.” 

Just weeks after Congress passed a short-term government funding bill that included about $100 billion for disaster recovery following hurricanes in the southeast, the president on Thursday noted that Congress may need to approve additional money to aid in recovery and rebuilding efforts. 

“In the next little bit, we’re going to be going back to Congress,” he said. 

But it comes as Biden is set to leave office in just a week and a half, handing over the White House to President-elect Donald Trump, who has been feuding with California Gov. Gavin Newsom over the fires. 

Asked at the end of the briefing by reporters in California will get the aid it needs from the next administration, Biden said "I pray to God they will." 

Biden was already scheduled to be in Los Angeles this week to deliver remarks in Eastern Coachella Valley on two new national monuments. Those remarks were postponed, however, and the president ended up receiving a briefing on the fires from local officials on Wednesday. 

The outgoing president also postponed his trip to Italy, set to kick off on Thursday, to continue to manage the fires.