Fact-check: Is the federal government treating California and North Carolina disasters differently?

As wildfires raged across Los Angeles, killing at least 24 people and destroying thousands of structures, some people sought to contrast emergency response to the fires to disaster response that followed deadly hurricanes that battered the southeastern U.S. late last year. 

"So L.A, Hollywood, and California (get) 100% aid for the next 180 days while Western North Carolina got $750. Got it," read one Jan. 10 Facebook post that included a string of disbelieving, angry emojis. "I am so angry about this so many are still in the cold here."

Some critics seized on California’s Democratic political leanings to explain what they described as a lopsided federal response. 

"When a blue state needs bailing out, Dems say spare no expense," read the screenshot of an X post shared Jan. 9 on Instagram. "If you live in a Republican state, then you get a $750 loan." 

The X post was made in response to President Joe Biden’s statement that said the federal government would "cover 100% of the cost of measures to protect lives and property in Southern California for six months."

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(Screenshot from Facebook)

These claims conflated two distinct forms of federal assistance — both of which were offered to support people in both states’ disaster-stricken communities — to inaccurately assert that the assistance offered to California was more comprehensive than what North Carolinians received. 

No two disasters are exactly the same and it’s too soon to say exactly how much money will be spent in either place. But the federal response to the California wildfires has so far mimicked the government’s response to Hurricane Helene hitting North Carolina. 

On its "Hurricane Helene: Rumor Response" page, FEMA said it hadn’t shifted resources away from North Carolina to respond to the wildfires, as some people had claimed. 

"FEMA has enough funding to support recovery efforts in multiple areas, including communities affected by Hurricanes Helene and Milton as well as response efforts in California," the agency wrote. "The supplemental funding bill approved by Congress on December 20, 2024 included $29 billion for the Disaster Relief Fund. FEMA is supporting over 100 major disasters and will continue to support the recovery in these communities for as long as it takes." 

In late September 2024, Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida. The storm then advanced north, causing devastating flooding in western North Carolina on Sept. 27. The next day, Biden approved a disaster declaration for North Carolina.

The Palisades fire in Los Angeles began as a brushfire Jan. 7. Biden approved a disaster declaration for California Jan. 8. 

The disaster declarations made federal funding available to the hurricane and wildfire victims in each state. 

"Assistance can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster," the White House statements said. 

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Instagram posts

stated on January 14, 2025 in a post on Instagram

The Biden administration is offering only “$770 for people who lost everything” in the Los Angeles wildfires.

Both statements said federal funding was available to state, tribal and eligible local governments "on a cost-sharing basis for emergency work" in affected counties in both states. "Finally, Federal funding is available on a cost-sharing basis for hazard mitigation measures statewide," the statements said.  

In both instances, Biden later increased the percentage of costs the federal government would take on for emergency work: 

• "The President authorized the federal cost-share to be increased from 75% to 100% for the first 180 days of the incident period," the Federal Emergency Management Agency said Oct. 2 about Hurricane Helene’s destruction in North Carolina. 

• "The President authorized the federal cost-share to be increased from 75% to 100% for a period of 180 days of the state’s choosing within the first 270 days of the incident period," FEMA said of the California wildfires Jan. 14.

A gazebo and the stairs that lead to it are flooded after Hurricane Helene passed the area on Lake James on Sept. 27, 2024, in Morganton, North Carolina. (AP)

On Jan. 13, Biden encouraged wildfire victims to apply for one-time $770 payments for emergency supplies. 

That $770 payment Biden mentioned is the same assistance as the one-time $750 payment made available to 2024 hurricane victims — the difference being a $20 annual cost-of-living increase, Federal Emergency Management Agency spokesperson Jayce Genco said.

These one-time payments come from FEMA’s Serious Needs Assistance program, which covers the cost of immediate emergency supplies such as water, food, first aid, baby formula diapers and personal hygiene items, Genco said. If people had to evacuate and stayed in hotels, the money could go toward those costs or toward the cost of fuel needed to evacuate, he told PolitiFact on Jan. 14. 

The one-time payments are initial payments provided to people as they await other assistance they might qualify for, according to FEMA’s website. In California and North Carolina, victims of the natural disasters who receive these initial payments might qualify for additional aid. 

A Facebook post said that after the damaging Los Angeles wildfires, "California gets 100% aid for the next 180 days while Western North Carolina got $750."

The posts conflated two kinds of federal assistance while saying North Carolina hurricane victims received only $750 in federal aid. That’s inaccurate — those one-time Serious Needs Assistance payments in North Carolina were initial aid people could use for emergency supplies as they awaited other assistance. California wildfire victims can apply for those payments, too. 

In both instances, Biden declared disasters and later increased the percentage of costs the federal government would absorb for emergency work to 100%. 

The federal response to the California wildfires has so far mimicked the government’s response to Hurricane Helene hitting North Carolina. 

We rate this claim False. 

PolitiFact Researcher Caryn Baird contributed to this report.

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