Biden's promise to federally fund California fire recovery for 180 days will go into Trump's term

President Joe Biden on Thursday promised California that the federal government would fully pay the initial costs of the disaster response to Los Angeles County's ongoing wildfires for the next 180 days, which will overlap with President-elect Donald Trump's term.

There are currently at least five wildfires in Southern California, including two that have burned more than 10,000 acres each since Tuesday. The Palisades Fire is the largest blaze, which has burned more than 17,000 acres so far.

Biden made the promise during an unexpected press briefing Thursday afternoon, and encouraged California officials to "spare no expense" that is needed to respond and recover from the fires. The president was previously expected to fly to Italy for the last foreign trip of his term, but has canceled that trip.

"The cost of the debris cleanup is gigantic, gigantic," Biden said, per ABC News. "The cost of replacing the housing is almost exponential. Anybody can give you a number now, they have no idea what they're talking about. It's big, big, big." 

The president's promise comes after California Gov. Gavin Newsom asked Biden to increase federal support for the wildfires from 75% to 90%. Biden responded that he would increase the support to 100% for 180 days, even though he leaves office in just 11 days.

“I’m leaving this office very shortly, but it’s not about the politics. It’s about giving people some sense of security that we’re going to be able to get this under control, but it’s going to take time,” Biden said. 

The president added that he would ask Congress to approve additional funding for the fires, The Hill reported.

Trump has not commented on whether he would provide funding for California when he takes office on January 20. But he has criticized Newsom for his handling of the disaster. 

Biden directed those impacted by the fires to contact disasterassistance.gov or 1-800-621-3362.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.