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Pres. Trump Reverses Course, Approves California's Request For Wildfire Disaster Relief Funds

October 16, 2020 / 1:35 PM PDT / CBS Sacramento

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SACRAMENTO (CBS13/AP) - After originally rejecting California's request for disaster relief funds, which would help clean up the damage from six recent wildfires, the Trump Administration has now approved the declaration.

The dispute surfaced as a representative of one fire-stricken area warned that time was running out to clean up debris before rain and snow arrived, bringing the threat of mudslides and toxins being washed into a river watershed.

Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom formally submitted a letter to the White House on Sept. 28 asking for a major disaster declaration, said Brian Ferguson, with the governor's Office of Emergency Services.

Newsom addressed the snub on Friday morning, tweeting that California would be appealing the decision.

The governor also appeared to aim a tweet at the president - writing simply "18 days," the length of time left until Election Day.

18 days.
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) October 16, 2020

California Rep. Tom McClintock later tweeted that he had been informed by Republican House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy that Pres. Trump was going to reverse the decision.

Then, early Friday afternoon, Newsom announced that he and Trump had just had a phone call where the president approved the Major Disaster Declaration request.

Newsom said he was grateful for the president's quick response.

In the meantime, the state is pursuing other avenues for reimbursement and support to help individuals and communities rebuild and recover, he said.

Federal major disaster declarations allow for cost-sharing for damage, cleanup and rebuilding between the state and federal governments. They also activate relief programs led by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Denials of relief are rare and Newsom has previously praised the Trump administration for approving aid related to the fires and California's struggles with the coronavirus pandemic.

No major new fires were reported statewide early Friday, but warnings of dangerously hot, dry and gusty conditions that can fan fires were expected to remain in effect until the evening. Nearly 9,000 firefighters remain on the lines of 21 fires.

Numerous studies have linked bigger wildfires in America to climate change from the burning of coal, oil and gas. Scientists have said climate change has made California much drier, meaning trees and other plants are more flammable.

Thousands of Northern California residents remained without electricity Friday after a utility cut off service to prevent powerful winds from damaging equipment and sparking wildfires amid a fall heat wave.

Power restorations began Thursday afternoon and by evening Pacific Gas and Electric said about 30,000 customers were still in the dark - down from about 45,000 the previous night.

All electricity was expected to be restored by late Friday after the second round of hot, dry gusts this week moved through the region and raised the risk of fires, PG&E said.

It has been a disastrous wildfire season in California, with more than 8,500 blazes burning more than 6,400 square miles (16,000 square kilometers) since the start of the year. Thirty-one people have died and some 9,200 buildings have been destroyed.

Meanwhile, winds in the Sierra Nevada foothills and San Francisco Bay Area topped 55 mph (89 kph), and humidity levels plummeted, making for critical fire conditions, said Scott Strenfel, the utility's senior meteorologist.

"Fuels are drying out, and they're just very susceptible to any fire ignition, just given these levels of dryness that we're seeing," Strenfel said Thursday.

PG&E began cutting power Wednesday evening as the first wind event began. Many in the wine country north of San Francisco said they feel drained by what seems like a never-ending wildfire season.

Kathleen Collins has had to evacuate her home in the mountains of Napa County four times over the past five years because of fires. This summer, she lived in a motel for two weeks after leaving her home when a massive cluster of fires reached her tiny community of Pope Valley.

"It's all very stressful. People are not happy, but there's not much they can do about it," said Collins, assistant manager at Silverado Ace Hardware store in Calistoga, the town of 5,000 people who were allowed to return home just last week after the Glass Fire forced them out in September.

The blaze that ravaged areas of Napa and Sonoma counties was contained Wednesday after destroying more than 1,500 homes and other buildings.

People have been buying generators, electrical cords, flashlights, batteries, gas cans and other supplies to help them deal with the latest outage, expected to last through Friday evening, Collins said.

The utility better targeted outages this time after it was criticized in 2019 for cutting power to about 800,000 customers and leaving about 2 million people in the dark for days.

Most of this year's fires have occurred since mid-August, when an unusual siege of thousands of lightning strikes ignited huge blazes.

The causes of two fires that broke out in September remain under investigation. PG&E equipment is being examined in connection with the Zogg Fire in Northern California, and Southern California Edison equipment is under scrutiny in the Bobcat Fire near Los Angeles.

Smoke from the huge Creek Fire burning since Sept. 4 in the central part of the state was still affecting air quality as far south as Los Angeles, the National Weather Service said.

The weather service issued heat advisories through Friday, with temperatures expected to reach triple digits in many parts of the state.

In Southern California, a brush fire Thursday near the city of Redlands triggered a small evacuation as it grew to more than 170 acres (69 hectares). It was about 50% contained.