but for a variety of reasons, their stories have not been recorded in those boldface fonts in the history textbooks. >> sharon mcmahon with her book "the small and the mighty," sunday night at 8:00 p.m. eastern on c-span's "q&a." you can listen to "q&a" in all of our podcasts on our free c-span now app. >> president biden and vice president harris were briefed in the oval office on the federal response to the los angeles-are a wildfires. they were joined by fema administrator dan criswell, california governor gavin newsom, and los angeles mayor karen bass to address recovery and relief aid and misinformation. the president called on congress to provide additional funding for wildfire disaster relief. pres. biden: ready, set, go?

>> ready. pres. biden: all right. vice president harris and i are about to receive a briefing with governor newsom and mayor bass and fema director criswell. so both of them are on the ground leading the fight against this god awful wildfire, the worst in california history, and there's been some progress in the last 24 hours. so i want to give an update of where we think things are at the moment. first come overnight local, state, and federal firefighters were able to partially prevent some of the largest fires from spreading to new areas. 3% in pasadena has been kept from spreading. 8% of pacific palisades, 35% in ventura, and 37% in so on. but this time yesterday these fires are mostly spreading out of control. we still got a long way to go, a lot to hear from the governor and others. and while the winds have died down for the time, we expect they'll remain a threat until early next week.

so we're going to keep working 24-7 to support state and local officials to fully stop these fires as soon as possible. next, we're going to make sure california has every possible resource to fight these fires and help survivors. as soon as the fire started, i approved the fire management assistance grants, which is a fancy phrase for saying the grants to cover the cost of firefighting federally, and the gear, equipment, capabilities like search and rescue. then i immediately proved to the governor's request a major disaster declaration, which will pay for things like the removal, temporary lodging, first responder overtime pay. both of these grants and the declaration usually cover 75% of the state's costs. yesterday i directed the federal government to cover 100% of the state costs for 180 days. i also announced fema has turned on its critical needs assistance program. this program gives one-time payment of $750 to survivors so

they can quickly purchase critical items like water, formula, gasoline, and prescription drugs. a survivor should go to disasterassistance.gov or call 1-800-621-3362. we can't help you if you don't know you need the help, so call disasterassistance.gov -- i mean, contact or call 1-800-621-3362. and i want to be clear, this is not the only aid the survivors can request from fema. more programs are going to be available through the disaster declaration, but this assistance that survivors can get now and get it fast. we're also helping the state and local law enforcement personnel keep people safe. we've offered governor newsom additional support on that front, too. for example, the defense department, military personnel can help direct traffic, evacuate people where traffic

lights have been destroyed. finally, i want to thank all the first responders, and i often say god made man, then he made a few firefighters, and these are men and women. the firefighters are proof of that. the scope, the scale, and the erratic movements of these fires is truly unprecedented. i mean, it's truly unprecedented. but day after day these firefighters have been pulling 24-hour shifts, rushing the flames with hurricane-force winds as well to rescue people, to evacuate neighborhoods and put these fires out. i speak for the american people and i say we owe you, we're with you, we're going to make sure you get every resource you need. i want to turn over to the vice president. vice pres. harris: thank you, mr. president. as you've said, what we have been witnessing is truly mass devastation. and whether we are talking about selmar to the palisades to altadena, it's important to know

that we're talking about neighborhoods of people, who in many cases -- i think about altadena -- these are -- these homes have been in these families for generations and in many of these homes it is a multi-generational family that lives there. also understand that in a lot of these neighborhoods, the folks who live there also work in that neighborhood, which means they've lost their home and their livelihood. so the devastation that we are looking at is multigenerational and is going to linger for quite some time, and the work under the president's leadership that we are doing through the federal government to provide aid in every way to the governor, to the mayor, to local police and fire, is critically important, and we are doing it with a sense of urgency.

i also would mention that not only are firefighters out there working around the clock, some of whom, sadly more than a few, who have lost their own homes in the fire, but so, too, with lapd police officers who are working around the clock, and there are at least a dozen who have also lost their own homes to the fire. so there is a real human story that is associated with the mass devastation that we are seeing, and everything that we can do to support, we will do. also understanding there are moments where we should find optimism in the heroism of people who are taking in strangers, taking in friends, providing shelter to evacuees, people looking out for each other regardless of where they come from or who they voted for. they're looking out for each other and showing the best of the american spirit in a moment of crisis. pres. biden:

addition to that, i want to point out that this is not going to be over even when all the fires are out. it's just going to be the beginning, and the change in insurance policy in california for these modest homes as well as these very expensive homes and businesses, so we're going to be around a long while to help the federal government, and the mayor as well. so why don't i yield to you, governor, for any comments you have to make it, bring us up-to-date. gov. newsom: i appreciate it, mr president and madam vice president. let me pick up on the spirit of your comments, but first with just deep gratitude to both of you for being so solicitous, so supportive, hand in glove in this operation. there's simply not an ask that hasn't been met. the major disaster declaration, mr. president, was a game changer. in fact, you were able to do that within 36 hours. i don't know if there's another precedent in american history for disaster. that was in the making was unfolding, and for you to be there in real-time, and

prescient as well, it turns out, that we're going to need all of that support and the fact that you were able to provide 100%, is just tremendous relief on the back side and other disaster relief side. and i think the big focus now, to your point, and appreciate the recognition of some progress last night, the winds were favorable. we have been able to address the perimeter issues. again, it's been focused about life, property, and perimeter. but the perimeter progress was real because we were able to get fixed wing and helicopters up last night. we had a new fire start, five fires that we're actively battling as we speak, the two large ones you've highlighted, the 8 and 3% contained, but we're able to -- these guys did an amazing job. we had this fire, kenneth fire, that could have been one of the bigger headlines today. and these guys were able to knock that down. it was heroic. i flew around it, see the dozers, the hand crews, rattlesnake crews, the national guard, the mutual aid system.

mr. president, 175 engines from across this country, from new mexico and oregon and washington state, utah, idaho, men and women coming out here regardless of their differences, in the spirit of what the vice president said, working together in the spirit that defines the best of all of us. and so just with deep gratitude to you, your team, we had the national guard out last night. we had 43 key posts that they were working, 855 national guard men and women were stationing additional national guard men and women to the extent we need it. we've searched all the assets we drew down from all over the state, and obviously now, increasingly across the country. i want to also highlight, because i think it's incredibly important, we have 150,000 people still under mandatory evacuation orders. these fires are not out. today we're going to make a lot of progress and continue to increase these containment

numbers. but it is important, and i cannot impress upon you more how happy i was to hear, mr. president, you say disasterassistance.gov. people are now naturally calling. there's tremendous anxiety out there around getting immediate assistance. the reality of this is starting the clarity as the -- you know, smoke begins to to move in daylight, people are starting to understand the magnitude. i thought i never would see anything like the tubs fire, the camp fire. this is up there. this will be one of the most destructive fires -- i mean, some property damage perhaps in the history of the country, but certainly in terms of scale and scope, 10s of 1000 structures already identified 10 people we fear have lost their lives, likelihood of more. the magnitude of this is pretty

profound. and in closing, you know, i appreciate, madam vice president, you bring up alta dena as well. you know, i was there yesterday, saw middle school, middle school burning down, lifestyles, places, tradition, kids, families, memories, communities completely you know, just torn asunder. it's not just a home, it's their lives and their livelihoods, these businesses, community centers. i can't tell you how many churches burned down. and so, you know, we had these hurricane-force winds, the likes of which we've never imagined in our lifetime. 99-plus-mile-an-hour gusts couldn't -- you know, there was no helicopters that can go up in those gusts and those wind shears. but we had, you know, thousands and thousands of men and women that did everything in their power to hold the line. and so hats off to the first

responders, and in closing, hats off to those neighbors that are stepping up, these self-organizing communities that are coming together in the spirit of what makes us great, the spirit of neighborhood to neighborhood of being there for each other. and final words -- you know, i ask you, we've got to deal with this misinformation. there were hurricane-force winds of mis- and disinformation and lies. people want to divide this country, and we're going to address that as well, and it breaks my heart as people are suffering and struggling that we're up against those hurricane forces as well. and that's just a point of personal privilege that i share that with you, because it infects real people that are out there, people i meet every single day, people the mayor's been meeting with, and they're having conversations that are not the typical conversations you'd have at this time, and you wonder where this stuff comes from, and it's very damaging as well. but we're here to get the job done, to be here for folks, to

focus, yes, on this mitigation, and then absolutely recovery. in record time with your support, we're going to be able to do that, with fema's support. we're going to get people back on their feet. we're going to rebuild this remarkable community and we're going to come back. i know it's cliche -- it's just a fact. we're going to come back stronger because we're all in this together and we're in this together because we have a leader in the oval office right now, mr. president, joe biden, an american president, being there for the american people at a time of critical need. and i cannot impress upon you personally on behalf of 40 million americans that live in the great state of california, how proud we are of you, vice president, and your leadership. pres. biden: well, thank you. you know, that's why i think it's so important i speak plainly to the american people and let them know what we can and can't do. for example, those churches that get burned down and talked about, those public schools, the federal government will pay to rebuild those, rebuild those. so we have to let people know that there are things that are

going to be coming that we've declared in this disaster relief legislation and others that are going to be available. because i think people say, ok, i'm out, but god, what happens now? but we're not leaving, we're not leaving until we get it done. karen, mayor. mayor bass: yes, thank you, mr. president and madam vice president. i just can't emphasize enough how important your support and involvement has been and how in the midst of such incredible devastation and tragedy that it has been comforting to know that you have been accessible. again, you know, the governor certainly mentioned the fact that you moved so quickly in response to the emergency declaration, the idea of a 100% reimbursement. we have made it clear to folks that that is not the norm, but that is what leadership does in response to such a devastating event.

and the governor mentioned, and let me just repeat, hurricane-strength wind without the rain. and that has led to such amazing devastation in terms of the palisades fire and some of the other fires. i think it is important to acknowledge the successes that have been going on where there have been evacuation orders that have been canceled and people are going back to certain neighborhoods. fires have been extinguished in several neighborhoods, pocoima, hollywood, studio city, where people were told they had to evacuate and those evacuation orders have been rescinded. and as our first responders are out there putting their lives on the line, as the vice president mentioned, they've been experiencing the losses as well, as well as the city and the county workforces. we have a number of our employees who have had to evacuate while responding.

their families have had to evacuate, or they've had the loss, the personal loss of their homes, their places to worship, their schools, or their businesses. but los angeles, the region, we are going to recover. we're going to recover, and we're going to rebuild, and we're going to rebuild better. one of the biggest challenges that is facing us, and i also know that it is a national situation, is insurance. and so today i'm here at the county hall of administration. we do two press conferences a day, one in the county, one in the city, and we had our state insurance commissioner here. we do have a state plan, but that state plan certainly needs to be -- he talked about introducing emergency legislation to respond to some of the ways we need to strengthen our system. so many of the homes in the area, especially in the palisades area, had their insurance canceled, canceled a

year or so ago, and he talked about how he wanted to have a moratorium. he was going to use the power of his office to have a moratorium that said that no policies can be canceled even if your home was not damaged. if you're in the area and everybody around you burned down, but your home was not damaged, that your policy cannot be canceled. so we have mobilized the philanthropic community, the philanthropic community is already setting up funds to assist, but we are also convening and the city is taking the lead here in the rebuilding effort, and we're going to expedite rebuilding. it brings back a lot of memories for me in 1992 when we experienced massive civil unrest and we were able to get the majority of los angeles rebuilt

quickly by coming together and suspending, waiving rules, you know, getting past bureaucracy. if you, if your home was devastated in a fire, there's no reason for you to have to go all the way back through the permitting process. so while we are saving lives, preventing further destruction, saving homes, saving businesses, dealing with the emergency at hand, we also have our eyes on the future, and are preparing to put forward policies, executive directives, next week that would address how we bring our city back together and how we expedite the rebuilding. saying that you know your and so again, let me just end by saying that you know your leadership, your leadership

period, over the last several years has just been outstanding, mr. president, madam. vice president, madam vice president, who's an angeleno. we know that you know when i spoke with you yesterday, you mentioned that you had to evacuate. you weren't going to mention yourself, but i asked you, and you mentioned that you had to evacuate from your home here while you were in washington, dc, and i just want to commend your outstanding leadership and let you know how the residents of los angeles are so deeply grateful. pres. biden: karen, one of the things i found in my experience in dealing with the disasters similar, not as devastating, and this is people take a look at the immediate help and they're satisfied and they're happy, but they look down the road and say, my god, look at downtown, it's gone. look at how we're going to do this. we're going to need the united states congress to follow up with appropriations to help provide for significant help for our fellow americans who need this help to pay for these programs that we have, because a lot more is going to be happening. and i now yield to a woman who's

an expert in all this. she and i -- we have traveled more states flying over fires for the last four years, and we literally observed from the air or on the ground more areas burned to the ground, burned to the ground, from arizona all the way up to idaho than the entire state of maryland if you took it all to the ground. and so we're used to this, but nothing like the concentration that's here. this is profound. and so we got the best person we could. go ahead. ms. criswell: thank you. yeah, thank you, mr. president, madam vice president. i mean, you and i, sir, have traveled many different disasters, and i can say from what i've seen here yesterday that this is certainly one of the most destructive that you and i have had to deal with during our time here. i had a chance yesterday to talk with the governor and the mayor to hear some of their immediate concerns, but mostly to start to talk about what this recovery is going to look like. i had an opportunity to get

briefings from the incident command post both at the palisades fire as well as the eaton fire, and madam vice president, i had a chance to drive through all to dena -- drive through altadina and see just what the heart of this community is by hearing from the local officials and just witness the amount of loss that they are experiencing and going through. i mean, in addition to the thousands of structures that we hear about that are gone, many of those homes, an entire small business district, a booming business district in altadena that has just been burnt to the ground, churches and schools and other public facilities that are just gone. and so this is going to be a very complex recovery, but i know that when we all come together and work together through all of our federal partners and bringing in our nonprofit and our private-sector partners that we are going to

get through this. and your approval, sir, of the 100% for the debris removal and the emergency protective measures for 180 days is really going to be a game changer in helping to make sure that this recovery gets started off on the right foot. and the major disaster declaration itself is going to do so much. it's so many people, as you heard, are evacuated, and there's not very many in shelters. and so we know that so many people are either staying with friends and family or they're staying in hotels. and with the changes that we have made to our programs over the last year, we are going to be able to cover most of those costs, if not all of those costs, that people are incurring, whether they're staying with family and friends or they're staying in hotels, to help ease some of that burden. and as they register for assistance, so we've already got close to 10,000 people that have registered, but we know that that's going to continue to go up and we're going to send more

people into the community to make sure that they register. they're going to be able to get things to help support that recovery, whether that's moving into the short-term and longer- term sheltering or their longer term housing needs to help reimburse for some of the losses and damages even though we know it's not going to come close to the total devastation and the total loss that they had. working together again, if congress approves additional funding and working with our partners like the sba, we're going to really be able to help all of these families with their specific needs and what they're going to need to do to help start this recovery journey. and one of the biggest things is going to be debris removal, and we've had lots of conversations with the governor's team about debris removal. they have an excellent capability here within the state, and we're going to be able to provide technical assistance to the army corps of engineers to make sure that they're getting everything done in the most expeditious way possible so they can start that recovery process. and i think, mr. president, madam vice president, what i would just close with is that as

you have said and as you know the governor -- and i've talked to the governor and the mayor, we are going to be here with you. governor, mayor, just know that fema, the entire federal family, is going to be here with you throughout this entire recovery journey, we are going to work through the complicated problems together, we're going to find the right federal resource to meet the needs and to get the outcomes that you want, and we're going to help every angeleno with the impacts that they've had and help them on this road to recovery. pres. biden: thank you. you know, one of the things that you and i have done, deanna, is we not only have to build back, we have to build back better. there are certain things we can do to prevent things from being if the same thing occurred from as much damage occurring. and that costs money, but it also saves money. there is climate change. there is climate change. this is part of it. and we have to deal with it. and the other thing is that, you know, when i was with you, gov, and we were looking around the state, it looked to me as i

traveled when i was out with you in california, what it reminded me of, it reminded me of more of a war scene where you had certain targets that were bombarded where artillery was -- just blew them up, with no rhyme or reason. in other words, you'd have this fire going crazy and burning everything down and three houses being fine. nothing is happening, or neighborhoods that were still green. it's still green, and next to a place that -- for example, you know, we're just looking at the secret service house that was out there, you know, all the vehicles are melted, yet the house next door still has green shrubbery on it, and you know, the house is fine. there is only, i think, four or

five houses in that 200 -- that you know, it's in the pasadena area. my generic point is it's almost like it's a battle scene. vice pres. harris: but you know, mr. president, we saw that in south carolina, north carolina, georgia, and florida with hurricanes. this is also the nature of, to your point, this changing climate, these extreme weather conditions, not only are they volatile and devastating, but there is no method necessarily to the impact in terms of the predictability of where it might land if we're talking about a hurricane or a wildfire. it's a resilience and meditation -- -- adaptation -- pres. biden: in these other areas like the hurricanes from north carolina to florida where you saw entire highways devastated, coming off the side of the mountains, dropping into -- well, you've got to build back the highway in a different way, so make it stronger.

so we're going to have to deal with this and we can make it -- i know anybody, any of your constituents who are listening say, my god, don't tell me about better, just tell me about getting back. but you know, we can not only build it back, we can build it back better, god willing. gov. newsom: 100%. no, it is remarkable and it's to your point, particularly as the smoke is clearing, you see that, you know, very indelibly and visually here in this fire, these newly constructed homes more likely to have survived, those with different materials, those with the latest home-hardening investments. and that was the chapter and verse, the lesson, the master class, and this was the campfire. remember, we lost 85 lives, 18,000 structures up there in paradise, california, and those structures that did survive. and so we've changed our building codes. we've began to adapt to this new reality. and i just say this to the

deniers out there, you may not believe in science, but you have to believe your own eyes. you know, mother nature's -- been said by others, just, you know, the chemistry, biology, and physics. she bats last, she bats .1000. there's been no rain. it's january, january. in southern california, it's the wettest time of year. none projected in the next many days. there's been a modest amount since last may here in southern california. the hots are getting hotter. dry's drier. wet's a lot wetter with these atmospheric rivers. and on that, mr. president, this is an area that we need to focus right now, and that's the likelihood that we may see some intense rain and a lot of debris flow and issues around massive flooding, which often is more deadly than the fires themselves. pres. biden: that's what happened in north carolina when we talk about the hurricane, you saw the entire rivers fill -- anyway, there's a lot we can do. mayor bass: you know, i do remember when we used to have a fire season. you remember that, governor? gov. newsom: no. mayor bass: we have a fire

season -- right in your in your entire term, that has not been the case. this is january. fire season used to be at the end of summer, so you know, absolutely correct, and then we know that that was the reason for such massive, massive devastation. but again, you know, sending out your deanne criswell -- cresswell. it was wonderful to meet you yesterday. everybody was very excited to know that you were going to be here and to know that fema was going to be a resource that they can access right away. continuing that is really what is needed right now, and i want to thank you once again. pres. biden: the vice president and i have initiated every federal agency from the department of defense on, every federal agency, to be part of this. and the other thing is, look, you know, i think you're getting a bad rap. i know you're getting a bad rap about these fire hydrants don't have enough water in them.

give me a break. give me a break. what this is all about is the utilities understandably, what they did is they cut off power because they're worried about these high tension lines coming down and causing more fires in the wind, right? when they do that, guess what? they shut off the power that controls the ability to pump the water. and so now they're getting generators here. i mean, this is complicated stuff. they're going to have a lot of demagogues out there trying to take advantage of it, but you're doing the right thing. we're going to get it done, god willing, and i say to the people of southern california, god bless you, stay strong, stay strong. we're not going anywhere. we're not going anywhere. mayor bass: thank you. thank you very much. gov. newsom: thank you, mr. president, for everything. pres. biden: and you know, all kidding aside, you both have my phone number. mayor bass: yes, we do. pres. biden: for real, anything that comes up if you have any ideas, and if you didn't, i got a california vice president and

she's wildly focused on this. mayor bass: the access to both of you is a tremendous benefit. pres. biden: well, thank you very much. we'll keep in touch, ok. thank you. pres. biden: [whistles] listen, i'm going to be talking a little later this afternoon about a number of things you're asking about from russian energy to what's going on in terms of the economy. but focus on this issue now. we just focus on this and we'll be back on the rest. so about this, you can ask me a question. reporter: ask you about -- you mentioned that you're about to leave office. are you coordinating with the incoming administration on the federal response? pres. biden: everything they know, every single thing we're doing about the response.

my hope is that they will have at least acknowledged we have some significant experience in this. we've done really well on it. i'm praying that they continue to focus. reporter: have you been told that the loss of life is likely to increase? pres. biden: it is likely it will increase. whether significantly or not, we don't know yet. there's still a lot of people who are unaccounted for. we don't know where they are. i think this toll is likely to go up, whether it's significant or not. pray god it's not, but it could be. reporter: how concerned are you about looting, incidents of looting? pres. biden: we are concerned. that's why i provided more police officers and more military. look, the dod is in full bore with this. we're providing everything from security through the military, the national guard, supplementing the national guard, because we are -- there's clear evidence that there's looting. there's clear evidence that

people are going into these survivor -- even places where they're not they're evacuated and it's not all rubble and people are going in and they're looting. and so that's going to that -- we know that will continue unless we make sure we're providing the help to prevent it from happening. reporter: what are you seeking from congress, supplemental for this specifically or broader? pres. biden: i think whether i'm going to be here -- that i have 10 days left, we have 10 days left, but we're briefing the opposition, the incoming administration, on what they're going to have to do. look, we have an awful lot of experience in this, unfortunately. climate change has been real. it's been real for the last 4 years of our administration. we've seen devastating impacts of consequence of the change, and it just like, you know, it's going to take more funding, i mean -- look, you're the most

informed people in the country. i'm not being facetious. you cover this every single minute. you've seen what these downtowns you have seen what these downtimes look like. they look like they have actually been blown up. entire sections of the cities, blown up. just remove the debris. just removing the debris is an incredibly expensive undertaking. we will get it done. we will pay for it, but we have got to be prepared to pay for it. when we do, we have to build back better than we did before. so thank you. one last question. do i have any estimates of cost? i can tell you based on my experience what i think the cost would be, but i'm not going to do that because we don't know. we want to make sure that when we get the cost