STATEMENT: One Year After Deadly LA Wildfires, Rebuilding Stalls as Trump Weakens FEMA
Sabotaging Our Safety Council Member and Former FEMA Official: “When the next wildfire strikes, there will be fewer federal boots on the ground precisely when communities need help most.”
WASHINGTON, D.C. — One year ago today, fourteen wildfires tore through Los Angeles County, destroying tens of thousands of homes and businesses, claiming at least 30 lives, and devastating entire communities. While thousands of survivors remain in limbo, the Trump administration has failed to approve California’s request for further disaster relief to aid long-term recovery.
“One year after the LA wildfires exposed catastrophic failures in our emergency response system, we're watching the Trump administration systematically dismantle the federal disaster response capacity needed to handle the next catastrophe, making it nearly impossible to respond to critical threats,” said Sabotaging Our Safety Advisory Council Member and former FEMA official Rafael Lemaitre. “States cannot handle major disasters alone—they lack the resources, expertise, and coordination capacity FEMA provides. When the next wildfire strikes, there will be fewer federal boots on the ground precisely when communities need help most.”
DEVASTATED CAPACITY: On New Year's Eve, the Department of Homeland Security fired dozens of FEMA disaster workers without warning. The fired employees worked on Cadre of On-Call Response and Recovery (CORE) teams, an essential part of the agency that provides support for communities in the aftermath of disasters. DHS Secretary Noem now personally approves all CORE contract renewals.
YEAR-LONG CAMPAIGN: 20% of FEMA staff have been slashed, critical emergency funds frozen, and FEMA’s Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program canceled—eliminating $4.6 billion in flood mitigation funding since 2020. On top of that, leaked plans to eliminate 11,500 positions threaten to cut FEMA's already dwindling workforce in half.
POLITICIZING RELIEF: A recent analysis by Sabotaging Our Safety reveals Trump has approved disaster declarations for 78% of disasters in states he won in 2024 compared to just 33% in states he lost, abandoning communities after their homes are destroyed and their livelihoods decimated due to the political leanings of a state.
LAWMAKERS DEMAND SUPPORT: This anniversary, California's entire bipartisan Congressional delegation—led by Senators Padilla and Schiff—urged Trump to provide overdue disaster relief for communities still rebuilding. So far, his administration responded by gutting the very agency responsible for delivering that aid.
