As of Oct.17, 2025 both the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) ended their in-person Survivor Support services at Los Angeles county Disaster Recovery centers.
Formerly located at University of California, Los Angeles Research Park West and the Altadena Disaster Recovery Center, these centers along with others saw 81,901 in-person visitors, since early 2025 at the height of the Palisades and Eaton fires that devastated Los Angeles. FEMA in particular was able to assist 35,052 of those people. The organization also distributed $159 million to individuals that visited these centers.
FEMA primarily offered assistance with the different government application processes, like low interest federal disaster loans for those who lost their homes and businesses due to the fires. FEMA stated the reason behind ending in-person services is because “the demand for in-person services for the Eaton and Palisades fires has decreased over time.”
Cal OES on the other hand focused on “individual assistance,” they informed the community of their local assistance centers and made sure that the victims of the Palisades and Eaton fires were working with the organizations that were best suited for their particular circumstance. They did this by coordinating with different non-governmental agencies like the Red Cross and federal agencies like FEMA.
The in person services that Cal OES provided were; mental health services, food benefits, disability benefits, unemployment and replacing personal documents that may have been lost in the fire. FEMA at the request of Cal OES approved a Fire Management Assistant Grant that provided 75 percent reimbursement for the damages done by the fire.
Individuals that still need access to these programs will be able to access them online at either FEMA’s official website or Cal OES’s website. Los Angeles will still have local assistance centers that will be able to provide in-person assistance to those who need it. The Small Business Administration will also continue to provide in-person assistance at two locations, the One Stop Rebuilding Center in LA City and the Altadena Community Center in LA County.
