Placerville, California, shows the hallmarks of a community vulnerable to wildfire: steep, brush-covered hillsides, older wooden homes and summer-dry fuels. “It’s a perfect storm for devastation,” says Tanya Harlow, wildfire resilience officer for El Dorado County. County officials spent three years preparing a FEMA-funded pilot to help more than 500 homes survive fires by subsidizing fire-resistant materials and clearing hazardous vegetation. But the project has been stalled for more than a year because FEMA has not approved the county’s project plan.
Placerville is one of hundreds of communities nationwide waiting for disaster funds. States and local emergency managers report a sharp slowdown in FEMA reimbursements under the Trump administration, delaying projects meant to reduce future damage from wildfires, hurricanes and floods. Internal FEMA documents obtained by NPR indicate the agency owes communities nearly $10 billion, much of it reimbursement for repairs already paid by local governments after major disasters.
Emergency managers say the backlog is straining local budgets and jeopardizing mitigation work that took years to plan. “We’re just at a standstill,” says Pam Bates, project manager for the Shasta County Fire Safe Council, which is also awaiting FEMA approval for a community wildfire project. Several projects face looming grant expirations and uncertain extensions.
FEMA declined to explain the slowdown or to comment on the total owed. The funding logjam followed a June policy by then-Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem requiring that all grants over $100,000 be reviewed by her office for “waste, fraud, and abuse,” including FEMA grants. A Senate Democrats report concluded that policy significantly slowed disaster aid. Noem was later fired; her successor, Markwayne Mullin, revoked that review policy earlier this month, but most delayed payments have not yet been released.
Many stalled awards come from FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, which funds rebuilding and retrofits to better withstand future disasters. The largest share of the withheld money sits in the Public Assistance Program, which reimburses states for repairing major infrastructure—roads, bridges and water systems—after disasters. Because communities must plan and pay for projects up front and rely on later reimbursement, payment delays create acute cash-flow problems. “In some states they’re taking emergency measures to pay those bills, which means cutting other programs people rely on,” says Andrew Rumbach of the Urban Institute.
The stakes in Placerville are immediate and personal. Homeowner Adele Montgomery, whose house is more than 40 years old, has trimmed branches and cleared brush around her property, but an aging wooden deck remains a major fire vulnerability. Under El Dorado County’s Weber Creek Project—a $25 million initiative approved by FEMA in 2023—homeowners could qualify for up to $40,000 in retrofit support, with the county overseeing contractors. An inspector recommended removing Montgomery’s deck and installing fire-resistant flashing, but the county’s environmental review sent to FEMA in February has not yet been approved, more than a year later. Officials had hoped to begin retrofits before wildfire season.
“We’re educating our communities on the importance of this, but then there’s no resources for them,” Harlow says. The county designed the project as a model: research shows neighborhoods are less likely to burn when most homes participate in mitigation work. “Real resilience really is at the community level,” she adds.
Other California counties face similar holdups. Plumas County is waiting on $2.5 million for vegetation clearing around homes. The Shasta County Fire Safe Council’s effort to improve about 500 homes is also stalled; with its FEMA grant set to expire in August, leaders are seeking an extension. “We have buy-in from the community and the problem is we can’t get through the process because FEMA is not participating,” Bates says.
Officials say the delays are longer than typical for an agency already known for slow administrative processes. FEMA’s own reporting shows disbursement of funds slowed beginning in June of last year. In late February the agency released more than $5 billion in recovery funds, but earlier internal FEMA data indicated the public assistance backlog had exceeded $14 billion.
Lawmakers have publicly criticized the pace. At a Congressional hearing, Sen. Thom Tillis cited urgent needs in Western North Carolina after a severe storm and warned that the review policies risked violating the law. Meanwhile, FEMA has lost thousands of employees since Trump took office and has been affected by government shutdowns. Trump has publicly suggested FEMA should be eliminated or significantly scaled back, shifting more responsibility to states. He also appointed a 12-member FEMA Review Council to propose changes; leaked drafts suggest further staffing reductions could be recommended.
The administration canceled the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) grant program, saying it focused on climate change initiatives and was inefficient. A judge recently ordered BRIC reinstated, but FEMA has not said when canceled funds will be restored.
Researchers and emergency managers emphasize that mitigation spending saves money over the long run by avoiding costly rebuilds. As the climate warms, storms and rainfall events are intensifying, increasing the frequency and severity of disasters. “If federal mitigation funding dries up, we’ll keep rebuilding vulnerable infrastructure and leave communities more exposed to future disasters,” Rumbach says. “Mitigation has repeatedly proven to be a sound investment.”
For now, many communities remain stuck in limbo, with planned projects paused, local governments fronting costs they may not soon recoup, and homeowners waiting for repairs that could reduce risks in the next wildfire or storm season.