Nearly $40M to be Allocated to LA Wildfire Recovery

The City Council Friday approved a report detailing nearly $40 million in expenditures related to wildfire recovery efforts — as costs inch closer to reaching a $50 million loan elected officials authorized in January.

In a unanimous vote, council members approved the report from City Administrative Officer Matt Szabo for informational purposes only. The CAO is expected to keep elected officials up to date on wildfire expenditures for the duration of Mayor Karen Bass’ declaration of a local emergency regarding January’s wildfires.

Through Aug. 7, the CAO received 26 funding requests from city departments, totaling $71,534,712.87. Of that amount, the CAO authorized nearly $40 million in expenditures and denied $401,376.13.

Another $31,181,614.27 in expenditure requests remain pending.

In the aftermath of January’s wildfires, the City Council authorized a transfer of $50 million from the Building and Safety Permit Enterprise Fund as a loan to cover wildfire response and recovery. The city is front-funding some of the costs while waiting for reimbursement from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

In March, the Department of Public Works Bureau of Engineering requested $1.5 million for the removal of debris blocking roads and to stabilize a collapsing hillside. The CAO approved $1.4 million for that work with money from the loan.

DPW also requested $9 million to cover a contract for debris removal services. In that case, the CAO approved $1 million with the remaining $8 million for that expenditure pending.

The Los Angeles Police Department requested approximately $12.1 million for overtime, supplies and equipment. The CAO approved the payment, but denied $2,764.33. In a second request, LAPD was approved for nearly $2 million for the same expenses.

The Los Angeles Fire Department requested an estimated $15.3 million for fire suppression, pre-positioning and other related fire response activities in May, which the CAO approved.

During the same month, the LAPD received approximately $1.8 million for overtime, supplies and equipment.