Sixteen months after California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a $2.5 billion package of relief funds and other measures for the victims of the January 2025 wildfires, state records show most of the fund remains unused, few of the dollars reached victims directly and some of the money was diverted for law enforcement unrelated to the response to the fires.
NBC4 Investigates found much of the $605 million expended to date was circulated to state agencies that performed tasks related to the Eaton and Palisades fires, $37 million went to the LA City and County fire departments to reimburse the costs of firefighting, and nearly $21 million was paid to the California Highway Patrol for managing road closures and security in the fire zones.
State records also showed about $14 million was used to pay CHP officers sent to demonstrations against aggressive federal immigration enforcement in downtown LA after state officials authorized use of the fire relief money for other purposes…