联邦政府已经改变了对加州要求灾难声明的态度野火有烧毁自9月初以来，美国各州的大片土地。
特朗普政府最初裁定不提供援助，后来在周五批准了援助。
加州州长加文·纽瑟姆周五下午宣布，他已经与唐纳德·特朗普总统通过电话，并表示他已经批准了这项请求。“感谢他的快速反应，”纽森说。
副新闻秘书贾德·迪尔(Judd Deere)在一份声明中说:“州长和[众议院少数党]领袖[凯文·麦卡锡]发表了讲话，并提出了一个令人信服的案例和额外的实地观点，以供重新考虑，从而导致总统批准该声明。”
早些时候，加州州长应急服务办公室的一名发言人周四晚上向美国广播公司(ABC News)证实，特朗普政府拒绝了发布重大总统灾难声明的请求，该声明将释放联邦资金。该州计划对该决定提出上诉。与此同时，官员们正在寻找联邦援助的其他途径来支持野火受害者发言人说。
联邦应急管理局新闻秘书利齐·利佐在周五早些时候的一份声明中告诉美国广播公司新闻，“联邦应急管理局与州和地方合作伙伴进行的损害评估确定，9月初的火灾的严重性和规模不会超过州、受影响的地方政府、志愿机构和其他做出反应的联邦机构的综合能力。”
“例如，国家可能会要求小企业管理局提供援助，该管理局可以向房主、租房者和企业提供低息灾难贷款，以满足他们的恢复需求，”利特佐补充说。“其他联邦项目也可以用来帮助恢复。但我们再怎么强调也不为过，保险始终是灾后最常见的经济援助来源。如果有人有保险，他们应该立即提出索赔。他们提交文件的速度越快，恢复就越快。”
然而，根据Litzow的说法，联邦应急管理局确实批准了加利福尼亚州五个县的四项火灾管理援助赠款，用于该州灾难请求中包括的野火。
“这些赠款将提供数百万美元的紧急费用和资金援助，以帮助减少未来灾害的风险，”她说。“如果州政府确定了支持该请求的附加信息，它可以在30天内对该决定提出上诉。”
吉恩·布莱文/路透社
照片:2020年9月19日，加利福尼亚州朱尼珀山，洛杉矶县消防队员在山猫大火彻夜燃烧时保持警惕。
纽森写了一封信给法宝9月28日寻求灾难声明发光，包括该州历史上最大的野火克里克大火，它烧毁了弗雷斯诺和马德拉县至少341，722英亩的土地，以及山猫大火，它烧毁了洛杉矶县洛杉矶国家森林至少115，796英亩的土地。纽森说，大火已经烧毁了7个县的180多万英亩土地，摧毁了3000多座建筑，包括近1000所房屋。他说，基础设施损失估计超过2.29亿美元。
“这些火灾的严重性和规模继续对该州和受影响的地方管辖区造成重大影响，因此恢复工作仍然超出了该州的能力，”州长写道。“受这些野火影响的许多县仍在从以前毁灭性的野火、风暴和新冠肺炎大流行的影响中恢复。”
凯尔·格里洛/法新社通过盖蒂图像
2020年9月17日，在加利福尼亚州洛杉矶县的洛杉矶国家森林公园，山猫大火正在燃烧。
纽森估计潜在的联邦援助为3.46亿美元。
“联邦援助对于支持加州及其社区的物质和经济复苏至关重要，”他写道。“加州及其社区恢复所需的时间越长，经济影响将越严重、越具破坏性、越不可逆转。”
去年，特朗普威胁在纽森在接受《纽约时报》采访时批评总统的环境政策后，削减了对加州野火的联邦援助。特朗普将该州的大火归咎于民主党州长，谚语他做了“糟糕的森林管理工作”
迪尔在周五早些时候的一份声明中说:“今年夏天，特朗普总统迅速批准了加利福尼亚州的野火救援，并得到了损失估计的支持。事实上，本周总统向加州提供了额外的灾难援助，授权将联邦资金水平提高到100%，用于从2020年8月14日开始并继续进行的野火造成的碎片清除和紧急保护措施。加利福尼亚州最近单独提交的文件没有得到相关数据的支持，这些数据必须由各州批准，总统同意联邦应急管理局局长的建议。”
Trump administration reverses course on California's request for wildfire disaster assistance
The federal government has reversed course on California's request for a disaster declaration forwildfiresthat haveburnedswathes of land across the U.S. state since early September.
The Trump administration had initially ruled against delivering the aid, before later approving it on Friday.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Friday afternoon he had spoken to President Donald Trump by phone and said he had approved the request. "Grateful for his quick response," Newsom said.
"The Governor and [House Minority] Leader [Kevin] McCarthy spoke and presented a convincing case and additional on-the-ground perspective for reconsideration leading the President to approve the declaration," deputy press secretary Judd Deere said in a statement.
Earlier, a spokesperson for the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services confirmed to ABC News on Thursday evening that the request for a major presidential disaster declaration, which would release federal funding, was rejected by the Trump administration. The state plans to appeal the decision. In the meantime, officials are looking for other avenues for federal assistance to supportwildfire victims, the spokesperson said.
Federal Emergency Management Agency press secretary Lizzie Litzow told ABC News in a statement earlier Friday that "the damage assessments FEMA conducted with state and local partners determined that the early September fires were not of such severity and magnitude to exceed the combined capabilities of the state, affected local governments, voluntary agencies and other responding federal agencies."
"For example, the state may request assistance from the Small Business Administration, which could provide low-interest disaster loans to homeowners, renters and businesses to meet their recovery needs," Litzow added. "Other federal programs may also become available to aid recovery. But we cannot stress enough, insurance is always the most frequent financial source of help after disasters. If someone has insurance, they should file a claim immediately. The faster they file, the faster their recovery can begin."
FEMA, however, did approve four fire management assistance grants in five California counties for wildfires included in the state's disaster request, according to Litzow.
"These grants will deliver millions of dollars of assistance for emergency expenses and funds to help reduce the risks of future disasters," she said. "If the state identifies additional information to support the request, it may appeal the decision within 30 days."
PHOTO: Los Angeles County firefighters keep watch on the Bobcat Fire as it burns through the night in Juniper Hills, California, on September 19, 2020.
Newsom penned a letter toTrumpon Sept. 28 seeking the disaster declaration for severalblazes, including the Creek Fire, the largest wildfire in the state's history, which has burned at least 341,722 acres across Fresno and Madera Counties, as well as the Bobcat Fire, which has burned at least 115,796 acres in the Angeles National Forest in Los Angeles County. Newsom said the fires have collectively torched over 1.8 million acres across seven counties and have destroyed more than 3,000 structures, including nearly 1,000 homes. The infrastructure damage estimates exceed $229 million, he said.
"The severity and magnitude of these fires continue to cause significant impacts to the State and to the affected local jurisdictions, such that the recovery efforts remain beyond the State's capabilities," the governor wrote. "Many of the counties impacted by these wildfires are still recovering from previous devastating wildfires, storms, and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic."
The Bobcat Fire is seen burning through the Angeles National Forest in Los Angeles County, California, on Sept. 17, 2020.
Newsom estimated potential federal assistance at $346 million.
"Federal assistance is critical to support physical and economic recovery of California and its communities," he wrote. "The longer it takes for California and its communities to recover, the more severe, devastating, and irreversible the economic impacts will be."
Last year, Trumpthreatenedto cut federal aid for California's wildfires after Newsom criticized the president's environmental policies during an interview with The New York Times. Trump blamed the Democratic governor for the state's blazes,sayinghe had done a "terrible job of forest management."
Deere said in a statement early Friday: "This summer, President Trump quickly approved wildfire relief for the State of California that was supported by damage estimates. In fact, this week the President made additional disaster assistance available to California by authorizing an increase in the level of Federal funding to 100% for debris removal and emergency protective measures undertaken as a result of the wildfires, beginning August 14, 2020, and continuing. The more recent and separate California submission was not supported by the relevant data that States must provide for approval and the President concurred with the FEMA Administrator’s recommendation."
