Although Fresno County declared a state of emergency due to the intense storms, the Federal Emergency Management Agency is currently not slated to help out the region as part of its aid to California.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R–Bakersfield) is calling on the federal government to change course and help out Fresno County.
Driving the news: Monday, FEMA announced that it is making federal disaster assistance to California to supplement state and local response efforts to the emergency conditions, including flooding and mudslides, as approved by President Joe Biden.
- The counties in line to receive assistance are El Dorado, Los Angeles, Mariposa, Mendocino, Merced, Monterey, Napa, Placer, Riverside, Sacramento, San Bernardino, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Sonoma, Stanislaus and Ventura Counties.
- With Fresno County declaring a state of emergency the same day, McCarthy took to social media Tuesday to call on Biden and California Gov. Gavin Newsom to include Fresno County.
What they’re saying: “Last night, Fresno County declared a county-wide State of Emergency due to this atmospheric river,” McCarthy wrote Tuesday. “I urge Governor Newsom and President Biden to work together and immediately include Fresno County in the current Federal Emergency Declaration for California counties impacted by the current storms so that it is eligible for federal disaster aid.”
