US Department of Labor awards more than $2.9M for continued support of clean-up, recovery after Northern California’s 2021 wildfires

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the incremental award of more than $2.9 million to California to continue supporting disaster-relief employment and employment and training services for residents as the state continues to recover from the wildfires that devastated several Northern California communities between July and October 2021.

In February 2022, the department announced the award of a National Dislocated Worker Grant of up to $8.9 million to the California Employment Development Department and an initial award of $2.9 million. 

The grant allows the state to provide temporary jobs for debris removal and forest restoration activities in Lassen, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Tehama and Trinity counties and employment and training services for eligible people in the affected areas. The incremental award announced today brings the department’s total award to California to $5,936,700. 

The wildfires devastated Lassen National Forest, Lassen National Park, Plumas National Forest and Trinity National Forest, as well as the lumber industry across Northern California. The fires’ damage also reduced the nation’s lumber supply, making it harder for affected communities to rebuild. The Federal Emergency Management Agency issued a major disaster declaration in August 2021, enabling California to request this funding. 

Administered by the department’s Employment and Training Administration – and supported by the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014 – National Dislocated Worker Grants provide funding assistance to temporarily expand the service capacity of dislocated worker programs at the state and local levels when large, unexpected economic events cause significant job losses.