Care for children, adults, and people with disabilities: Recently, Governor Newsom issued Executive Order N-2-25 and Executive Order N-3-25, which provided CDSS the flexibility to waive licensing requirements as needed to directly respond to the immediate needs of facilities that provide critical services, such as assisted living, child care, and children’s residential care, who were impacted by the fires. Executive Order N-3-25 also provides for the reimbursement of child care providers for up to 30 days if they were impacted by the fires and needed to close. 

Staff from the Department of Health Care Access and Information, in partnership with the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) and local fire marshals, have visited skilled nursing facilities to conduct and approve repopulation visits that allow for the safe reentry of patients and staff.
 
The Department of Developmental Services’ Regional Centers, who serve people with developmental disabilities, are conducting wellness checks to ensure that needs are being met. Similarly, the California Department of Aging is working with local Area Agencies on Aging and Community-Based Adult Services centers to address the needs of impacted seniors and connect them to needed resources including navigating the disaster recovery process. If residents of assisted living or skilled nursing facilities, or their families, have concerns, extra support is available through the local Long-Term Care Ombudsman program.  In Los Angeles, contact Wise & Healthy Aging at 310-394-9871 or the state’s CRISISline at 1-800-231-4024.
 
Lastly, children in foster care and adults receiving support through adult protective services in the impacted areas are receiving additional outreach from LA County, with the support of state.

Boots on the ground

Emergency medical services support: Through the California Emergency Medical Services Authority, California has deployed two California Medical Assistance Teams to CAL FIRE base camps, and two Ambulance Strike Teams. Collectively, these teams have provided medical treatment to firefighters, facilitated patient evacuations and transports, and distributed medical items, including medications.
 
Volunteers: CDSS has deployed members of its Volunteer Emergency Services Team (VEST) and Functional Assessment Service Team (FAST) who are in the field supporting response and recovery efforts. CDSS and CDPH are also providing services in Disaster Recovery Centers to connect people to needed services and provide vital records. Since the fires began, California has been supporting local shelters throughout the impacted region. Currently, there are 6 shelters supporting 542 people. Shelters are proving food, water, and support for immediate health care needs.
 
Masks and water: Also, through CDPH, more than 1 million N-95 masks and thousands of cases of bottled water have been delivered to Los Angeles County. CDPH is actively working to stand up efforts to support public health to address air quality, drinking water, and hazardous debris.

Get Help Today 

Californians can go to CA.gov/LAfires – a hub for information and resources from state, local and federal government.  
 
Health care coverage: Covered California recently announced a special-enrollment period for residents of Los Angeles and Ventura counties. This special enrollment period will last until March 8, 2025. Resources are available through Los Angeles County and the State of California. Of the 1.3 million uninsured Californians who qualify for subsidies through Covered California or are eligible for Medi-Cal coverage, 356,000 of them reside in Southern California.

California has developed resource guides to help guide people through disasters and provide information on the different types of federal, state, and local services available in California:

Through the BenefitsCal portal, Californians can get and manage benefits online. This includes food assistance (CalFresh) formerly food stamps, cash aid (CalWORKs, General Assistance, Cash Assistance Program for Immigrants), and affordable health insurance (Medi-Cal).
 
Individuals and business owners who sustained losses from wildfires in Los Angeles County can apply for disaster assistance: 

• Online at DisasterAssistance.gov 
• By calling 800-621-3362 
• By using the FEMA smart phone application 
• Assistance is available in over 40 languages 

If you use a relay service, such as video relay service (VRS), captioned telephone service or others, give FEMA the number for that service.