It has been reported that California, in general, and Los Angeles, in particular, have received seemingly endless flows of federal funds from the DOT and other federal agencies for wildfire management, repression, and response. Yet these funds do not appear to have been used wisely. This has led many to conclude that California’s trouble with wildfire mitigation is not due to a lack of funding, but rather years of the state’s foot-dragging and red tape.

Natural disasters happen, regardless of state or political party. And we should all rally around those who experience calamity through no fault of their own. But those in government also have a duty to responsibly manage funds that have been allocated to prevent and respond to these disasters. That does not appear to have been the case in California.

Accordingly, I have been conducting oversight of the contributing causes of the Palisades fire and the adequacy of the response efforts. To advance that oversight, although I acknowledge your incredibly effective response to the Palisades fire, I am writing to request an update on the funding that has been allocated to California in the past ten years, starting on September 1, 2015. In particular, how much money has the DOT given to California for wildfire response, prevention, and recovery? How many DOT personnel have been employed or deployed to respond to wildland fires on California state property? Are there any federal or California laws, rules, or regulations that hinder the DOT’s ability to adequately respond to wildfires or recover from wildfires? Additionally, how much money did California receive from the DOT in response to the Palisades wildfires and other California wildfires that occurred in 2025?