Northern California will get assistance from the U.S. Department of Labor through a $960,000 award to aid with wildfire cleanup and recovery after the August 2020 fires.
The incremental award will help after more than one million acres of land were affected, with homes, businesses and natural habitats destroyed by the fires, according to an Aug 8. news release.
“The U.S. Department of Labor today announced an incremental award of $961,059 to support continued disaster-relief employment and employment and training services in northern California after devastating wildfires in August 2020,” the department reported in the release.
Intense lighting strikes started more than 600 fires across 20 California counties, the release said.
This latest round of funding is part of the department's National Dislocated Workers Grants (DWGs) which are awarded by the Secretary of Labor. Eligible applicants including states receive resources through DWGs as they deal with large, unexpected layoffs that result in significant job losses, the release reported.
Disaster DWGs supply the funds needed for temporary employment opportunities that also help with clean-up and other recovery efforts, according to the release.
The recently announced incremental award raises the total of project funds awarded to the region to $4.4 million, according to the Department of Labor release. The latest grant will enable the California Employment Development Department to provide employment and training services to individuals in the following counties: Butte, Lake, Lassen, Mendocino, Monterey, Napa, Nevada, Plumas, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Sierra, Solano, Sonoma, Stanislaus, Trinity, Tulare, Tuolumne, Yolo and Yuba counties.
