Disaster Relief for Victims of Wildfires

The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ASPA as an organization.

By Skyler Moore
September 23, 2024

In the state of California wildfires are more likely to occur between the months of April and October. Several factors contribute to the increased probability of wildfires during the early spring and late fall seasons including rising temperatures; increased vegetation; droughts, stronger winds; drier and warmer climate; increased land use; and human activity. The consequences of wildfires can be devastating and life changing displacing animals and families, in addition to contributing to air pollution, threatening air quality and creating dangerous conditions for those with compromised immune systems, children, women who are pregnant and older adults. While these factors and effects of wildfires are often recognized and widely spoken about, those who are food insecure, suffer food loss and require food resources, due to displacement are often not recognized when pondering on the effects of wildfires. To address the many facets of foods issues faced by victims of wildfires, the State of California continues to implement its CalFresh Disaster Response food benefits as part of continuing disaster recovery efforts.

Waiver Extension

The Riverside County Department of Public Social Services recently announced special provisions for victims of wildfires living on low incomes, who are recipients of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits (SNAP), also referred to as CalFresh in the state of California. Recipients of CalFresh or SNAP, who purchased food with their CalFresh or SNAP benefits, or California’s Summer-EBT program (SUN Bucks), would receive a waiver which increases the amount of time to report food loss, extending the time period threefold from the current standard of 10 days to 30 days. Additionally, victims of wildfires who are not recipients of CalFresh, SNAP, or the SUN Bucks program may be eligible to enroll in the Disaster CalFresh program, which provides immediate temporary food assistance for victims of natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods and fires.

Wildfire Damage

According to California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection data, as of September 2024, there have been a total of 6,269 wildland fires for a total of 995, 829 acres burned in the state of California. In addition to the number of acres burned, 1,680 structures have been damaged or destroyed. This is inclusive of many of the wildfires such as Post Fire, Record Fire, Tenaja Fire, Eagle Fire, Hawarden Fire, Macy Fire, Nixon Fire and Airport Fire that emergency personnel have responded to over the past few months in the Riverside County region of Southern California. The wildfire totals for the current year surpass September 2023 totals of 5,221 wildland fires with 256,191 acres burned, and the five-year average for the same September interval of 6,116 wildland fires with 968,591 acres burned in the state of California. According to California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection data, more than 230 structures were damaged or destroyed as a result of the fires in the Riverside County region.

Relief for Residents

The Riverside County Department of Public Social Services issued press releases in August 2024 and September 2024 which estimates indicate more than 23,500 households receiving approximately $4.8 million in CalFresh benefits, may have suffered food loss a result of the Eagle Fire, Hawarden Fire and Tenaja Fire which each occurred in either July 2024, or August 2024. The CalFresh program is designed to provide supplemental benefits for individuals and families living on a low income, who meet the federal income eligibility threshold and standards and have a need for resources for food purchases. The CalFresh program differs from the CalFresh Disaster Response in that it is a program designed for individuals or families who are victims of a recent disaster and require food assistance. CalFresh Disaster Response or D-CalFresh is referred to federally as the Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. The D-CalFresh program provides one month of food assistance benefits to purchase food and other nutritional products from authorized retailers. Benefits through the D-CalFresh program only become available when there is a Presidential Major Disaster Declaration for Individual Assistance announcement made in an affected area; commercial food distribution has been disrupted and then restored; and the State of California has been authorized to operate the D-CalFresh program. Households living or working in or near a disaster area at the time of the disaster, who purchased or planned to purchased food during the disaster benefit period, and who were adversely affected due to loss of income, inaccessible resources and disaster expenses may be eligible for D-CalFresh at the time of the disaster. The D-CalFresh program has proven to be a critically needed resource to those in the Riverside County region affected by disasters as there have been four CalFresh Disaster Response efforts throughout the county this year. These efforts have provided much support and relief to residents.

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Author: Skyler Moore is a Doctor of Public Administration and a graduate of California Baptist University. He has more than 14 years of experience in behavioral health services, housing, children’s services, and aging. He is currently an analyst in a local government. He can be contact at [email protected] for questions regarding this article.

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