Powerful wind and rain toppled trees and electrical power lines. Public highways were damaged, and two people died in the storm. Then-Gov. Jay Inslee, a Democrat, issued disaster declarations across 11 counties at the time, including Seattle. The storm was classified as a bomb cyclone because it rapidly intensified.
Gov. Bob Ferguson (D-WA), who was elected weeks before the storms hit, is taking advantage of the 30-day deadline to appeal the decision.
“There are very clear criteria to qualify for these funds. Washington’s application met all of them. This is another troubling example of the federal government withholding funding,” Ferguson wrote on X. “Washington communities have been waiting for months for the resources they need to fully recover from November’s bomb cyclones, and this decision will cause further delay.”
In a letter, FEMA said that supplemental federal assistance was “not warranted.” However, the letter also implied that Washington might be eligible for additional resources from other federal agencies and offered help from its regional administrator.
The move could spell trouble for California, which also sought FEMA funding for the fires earlier this year. Together, the Palisades and Eaton fires burned over 37,000 acres of land and destroyed more than 16,000 buildings.
KENTUCKY FLOODING RESULTS IN TWO DEAD AND PROMPTS DISCUSSION ON STATE RESPONSE
This comes after Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner rejected a draft action plan about aid to Asheville, North Carolina, over its diversity, equity, and inclusion practices. As a result, the department helped draft a new plan as the area reported roughly $1 billion in damages following Hurricane Helene.
The Trump administration has made it clear it plans to overhaul FEMA. In January, President Donald Trump signed an order to establish a task force to review the agency’s practices. Trump and Homeland Security Director Kristi Noem have said there are plans to “eliminate FEMA,” most recently during a Cabinet meeting in March.
