According to information from official sources, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and state, territory or tribal government may provide direct and financial disaster assistance to U.S. citizens, non-citizen nationals and qualified non-citizens.

Disaster assistance may include money for expenses not covered by insurance or other sources.

Qualified non-citizen includes Legal Permanent Residents (“Green Card” holders); Non-citizens granted asylum; Refugees; Non-citizens whose deportation status is being withheld for at least one year; Non-citizens paroled into the U.S. for at least one year for urgent humanitarian purposes or significant public benefit; Certain battered non-citizens or their spouses or children; and certain victims of a severe form of human trafficking.

All individuals, regardless of citizenship and immigration status, affected by a major disaster may be eligible for crisis counseling assistance, disaster legal services, disaster case management, disaster supplemental nutrition assistance program and other non-monetary, in-kind emergency disaster-relief programs. These include medical care, shelter, food and water.

For shelters on the ground, regardless of the entity managing the particular shelter, immigration status is not a factor in accepting those in need of support. Many NGOs also do not distinguish support based on immigration status.

Local Assistance and Disaster Recovery Centers have been established at the following locations:

Donations:

For material/in-kind donations to communities at the local level, please contact eocboc@lacity.org for LA City, and Chief of Protocol Lourdes Saab (lsaab@protocol.lacounty.gov) for LA County.

There will be a range of national and local NGOs and community entities that would appreciate support. Please contact Chief of Protocol Lourdes Saab (lsaab@protocol.lacounty.gov) who is working to collect a list of trusted NGOs.

Any Pakistani citizen affected by the wildfires may contact the following at Consulate General of Pakistan in Los Angeles:

Los Angeles

17 January 2025