Amid the chaos of submitting insurance claim forms, finding housing and securing steady meals and water, Altadena resident Kierra Phillips waited hours at a Los Angeles County library to get help with an emergency financial aid application.
“It’s still not processed that we lost our home but all I can do is move forward,” Phillips, 32, said Monday, Jan. 13. “I’m just trying to make sure that I’m covered and my grandma is covered.”
For two days starting Sunday, Jan. 12, the Federal Emergency Management Agency opened centers in eight L.A. County libraries to help victims of the fires apply for government aid, housing help and other resources.
Employees from FEMA and the U.S. Small Business Administration filled out applications for people, answered questions and offered resources to those who lost their houses in the Palisades and Eaton fires.
Some residents who lost their homes have faced delays and said they have been turned away from receiving help. FEMA has warned those applying that the process is long and patience will be needed as the agency attempts to help as many fire victims as possible.
On Monday, four FEMA workers were at the library in Arcadia, where residents who signed up were allotted roughly 30 minutes to seek help.
Phillips was one of the first waiting to be helped at the Live Oak Library in Arcadia. She got to the small library near the corner of Live Oak Avenue and Santa Anita Avenue about 7 a.m. and waited about three hours to be sure she could be seen.
Assistance hours have fluctuated at the L.A. County libraries. They opened Sunday, Jan. 12, a normal day off for county libraries, and started operations at 9 a.m. Monday, an hour earlier than usual.
The 50-person cut off for timeslots with FEMA representatives at the Arcadia location was reached before noon. By 12:30 p.m., a waiting list of about 15 people was in place. They were not guaranteed a spot and library officials suggested they check nearby libraries such as the Temple City Library, which is five minutes west of the Live Oak Library.
Phillips lived at her grandmother’s house and already submitted her application as a tenant, but is helping her grandmother, the homeowner, apply as well.
“My grandmother was told on the phone that she couldn’t get assistance because I had already submitted an application,” Phillips said. “That doesn’t make any sense because I’m not the homeowner and didn’t file as one. I filed as a tenant.”
FEMA lists this circumstance — the idea that only one person per household is eligible for assistance — as a rumor on its website.
“Generally, FEMA provides all eligible assistance to one application to assist all members of the pre-disaster household,” according to the FEMA website. “However, FEMA will evaluate the unique needs of eligible survivors to include households that may be separated due to the disaster, households made up of roommates, or when there is a financial relationship between an owner living in a home with boarders or renters.”
Despite the complications and stress she feels trying to assist her grandmother, Phillips said FEMA workers have been fast and “really helpful.” For Phillips’ application, she said FEMA gave her an estimate of three to five business days before she receives aid. Since her grandmother’s application isn’t yet submitted, she didn’t have an estimate of how long it would take.
Michael Matamoros, who came to the Live Oak Library with his wife, her grandmother and dad, said there is a long road ahead.
The couple spent around 45 minutes talking with the U.S. Small Business Administration workers and felt “100% better” after doing so.
“We feel comforted knowing it’s legit information,” Angela Matamoros said.
He added: “We were most concerned about the amount of fraud we’ve heard about.”
Both have seen online posts warning of potential digital scammers posing as FEMA or other relief organizations.
Like Phillips, the couple lost its house in the Eaton fire. Angela’s grandmother also lost her house in Altadena.
“It’s a lot but we’re strong and we realize we’re lucky to not have anybody deceased in our family,” Michael Matamoros said. “A lot more people are worse off than us right now.”
FEMA is trying to organize disaster recovery centers as a one-stop-shop where fire victims can find resources from city, county, and state agencies, Lori Sanchez, a Los Angeles-based FEMA worker, said.
As of 1 p.m. Monday, Sanchez said she didn’t know the locations of these centers yet. FEMA’s communications department could not be reached Monday.
People have already started receiving funding, Sanchez said.
Sanchez has worked with FEMA since the 1994 Northridge earthquake and said seeing the fallout of the fires has been “devastating.”
“I wasn’t personally affected but everybody that I know knows someone who is affected,” she said. “I’m smelling the smoke and can’t drive through some of the communities so it hits close to home. We are committed to helping folks who are here.”
The fires are expected to be one of the costliest disasters in U.S. history, City News Service reported.
Gov. Gavin Newsom told NBC News on Sunday that he believes the fires will be the worst natural disaster in the nation’s history “in terms of just the costs associated with it, in terms of the scale and scope.”
Emergencies have been declared in the county and the state, and President Joe Biden has vowed to provide federal money for the next six months and approved a major disaster declaration for the state.
For a full list of FEMA resources, visit FEMA.gov/disaster/4856. Disaster assistance can be found at disasterassistance.gov.
City News Service contributed to this report.