Fire Recovery Centers Open in West LA, Pasadena

LOS ANGELES, CA — A pair of Disaster Recovery Centers opened Tuesday, offering local and federal resources for Los Angeles County residents affected by the fires, and authorities urged people to apply for relief funding.

On the Westside, a center is located at the UCLA Research Park -- formerly the Westside Pavilion in West Los Angeles at 10850 W. Pico Blvd. To the east, another center opened at the Pasadena City College Community Education Center, 3035 E. Foothill Blvd.

The centers were open from 1 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, but starting Wednesday, they will be open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.

"I think this is a wonderful facility where people can come. There's adequate parking, and this facility is obviously for the people from everywhere, but especially from the Palisades and Hurst fires," Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass told reporters as she toured the West Los Angeles center Tuesday afternoon.

Services will be available to people who have lost records, including birth certificates, death certificates, driver's licenses and social security cards. People who have lost their homes or businesses can apply for disaster relief loans.

Mental health counseling and other services will also be available.

The centers will include representatives of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which had been offering assistance previously at eight Los Angeles County libraries. Those services will now be located at the two new Disaster Recovery Centers.

Robert Fenton Jr., FEMA Region 9 administrator, urged residents impacted by the fires to apply online for federal grant money, noting that more than 40,000 people have already done so, and FEMA has awarded more than $8 million already.

"But there's a lot of work yet to do," he said. "There's a lot of questions out there, so if you have questions, please come in here and do that."

He said FEMA has a pair of grants that can provide applicants with up to $43,600 each. One is an "other-needs" grant that can help pay for personal property losses, medical and dental expenses, transportation, funeral costs and other miscellaneous costs, Fenton said.

The other program is a housing assistance grant that can help with repair costs, housing replacement and lodging expenses.

Fenton said people should apply online for the grants first at disasterassistance.gov, then visit a Disaster Recovery Center for further assistance. He said people who have insurance should first go through their insurance company for assistance.

"If you have done that, bring that in here and we can go ahead and help you with any unmet needs or any under-insurance you may have," he said. "... There's many other different federal, state and local agencies here that can help you on your road to recovery, and our teams collectively stand by to help you down that path."

By the time all the damage in assessed, the fires are expected to constitute one of the costliest disasters in U.S. history. Gov. Gavin Newsom told NBC News on Sunday that he believes the fires will be the worst natural disaster in the history of the country "in terms of just the costs associated with it, in terms of the scale and scope."

Emergencies have been declared in the county and the state, and President Joe Biden approved a major disaster declaration for the state.

More information on Unified LA alerts and programs can be found at unified.lacity.gov.

City News Service