LA officials say Trump administration has been helpful in fire recovery, but uncertainty remains

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- When the Los Angeles wildfires erupted at the start of the year, it was immediately clear that Southern California was going to need major help from the federal government.

Then, two weeks after the fires, President Donald Trump took office.

It's been months since Trump said he would only provide fire aid to L.A. with conditions, and based on his actions so far, city leaders are optimistic.

But just how supportive has the Trump administration been?

Eyewitness News spoke with both Mayor Karen Bass and L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, who said the administration has been a key partner.

"Yes, I have to say the administration has been very supportive," said Bass. "We've had an unprecedented number of Army Corps of Engineers staff with us, which is one of the reasons why Phase 1 and Phase 2, the removal of the hazardous materials and then the debris removal have gone so fast."

Barger echoed that sentiment, saying within one day, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps had additional resources.

"When he heard the timeline, he said unacceptable," said Barger, who said the Army Corps of Engineers could be done with their work in Altadena as early as late June - way ahead of schedule. Both leaders hope the help will not stop once debris removal work is complete.

"There's always a fear," said Bass. "I'm happy President Biden said we could get 100% reimbursement from FEMA. President Trump has continued that, and so we're hoping that will continue, but, you know, there have been questions about the longevity of FEMA."

Barger believes the city and county has to get reimbursed.

"I'm not concerned about that, because we're going to provide the documentation, and with the proper documentation, we can show we met all the requirements to get reimbursed. It's not going to happen overnight," she said.

Biden's disaster declaration signed before leaving office reimburses the city and county for the costs of cleanup, hazard removal, and helping survivors get back on their feet for 180 days. After that, 75% of costs are reimbursed.

Gov. Gavin Newsom has asked congress for nearly $40 billion to rebuild Pacific Palisades and Altadena.

But with local and state government facing budget challenges, continued help from the federal government feels necessary.

"I can't get a million dollars for a homeowner to rebuild and then say, 'Have at it,'" said Barger. "But I can work with the administration to identify low interest loans that will give them access to liquidity, so they can rebuild. That's the role of government."

The fire relief package Newsom requested has the support of a bipartisan group of California's congressional delegation. They hope the aid will be approved this summer.

"I also issued another directive that we were going to postpone any fees until the council did the ordinance that would allow us to waive the fees, so if the federal government wanted to reimburse that because it is a hit to the general fund to waive fees, we would embrace that assistance," said Bass.