How to resolve AdBlock issue? Officials said there are 17 major fires currently burning across the state, causing extensive damage to residences and infrastructure. More than 14,000 firefighters from California and 17 other states are working the front lines of wildfires statewide.
Those incidents include the Mendocino Complex, burning in Lake, Mendocino and Colusa counties, and headed toward Glenn County.
By Saturday night hit had topped 229,000 acres and destroyed more than 100 structures. It continues to threaten an estimated 15,300 structures and has resulted in the evacuation of thousands of residents in the three counties where it’s actively burning.
Last week, Gov. Brown declared a state of emergency in Shasta, Lake, Mendocino, Napa, Riverside and Mariposa counties due to multiple fires and requested and secured federal aid to further support communities impacted by the Carr Fire.
Then, on Saturday, the governor met with local leaders and fire and emergency management officials at the Carr Fire Incident Command Post in Shasta County and officially requested a presidential major disaster declaration to bolster the ongoing emergency response and help residents recover from the devastating fires burning in Lake, Mendocino, Napa and Shasta counties.
“Battling these relentless fires requires a Herculean effort,” said Gov. Brown in the request for a presidential major disaster declaration sent Saturday to the White House. “Additional federal assistance is needed immediately to reduce the direct threat to public health and safety.”
A presidential major disaster declaration makes individuals in the impacted counties eligible for a number of programs and support, including crisis counseling, unemployment assistance, food aid and legal services.
The governor’s office said a declaration also would help state, tribal and local governments with ongoing emergency response and recovery, including the repair and replacement of disaster-damaged facilities and infrastructure, including roads, bridges and utilities.
Congressman Mike Thompson added his support to the state of California’s request for the major disaster declaration to gain individual and public assistance for Lake, Mendocino, Napa and Shasta counties in a Saturday letter to President Donald Trump.
“An Emergency Declaration under the Stafford Act will provide the essential federal resources needed to help our communities recover from these devastating fires,” Thompson said.
Later on Saturday, Brown’s office reported that the White House approved the request for the presidential major disaster declaration for the Carr fire in Shasta County.
At its peak, the Carr Fire forced more than 35,000 Shasta and Trinity county residents to seek temporary shelter – and thousands remain evacuated. To date, the fire has burned more than 140,000 acres, killed half a dozen people and is about 40-percent contained.
“This is part of a trend – a new normal – that we've got to deal with. We're dealing with it humanly, financially and governmentally,” said Brown on Saturday during a media briefing at the Carr Fire Incident Command Post in Anderson. “These kinds of horrible situations bring people together, regardless of the lesser kind of ideologies and partisan considerations.”
The Governor’s Office reported that the Federal Emergency Management Agency is reviewing the disaster declaration requests for Lake, Mendocino and Napa counties on an expedited basis as preliminary damage assessments continue.
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