Deadline nears for L.A. fire victim fund with no right-to-work status required

Any business owner, worker or self-employed fire victims who have suffered a loss of income are eligible to earn $2,000 or more in cash assistance, but they need to hurry.

The deadline to apply is March 2, 2025, by 5:00 p.m. PST.

Applicants must meet all of the following requirements in order to qualify:

• Be at least 18 years of age.

• Be a resident of Los Angeles County.

• Be employed or self-employed (such as domestic workers) in Los Angeles County at the time of the Windstorm and Wildfire emergencies that took place starting January 7th, 2025.

• Experienced income loss (temporary or permanent) due to place of work location in the emergency zones (Fire Zone, Evacuation Order Level 3 Zone, or Evacuation Warning Level 2 Zone during Disaster period.) or due to loss of their home.

Right to work status is not required to apply.

The financial relief is provided through the L.A. Region Small Business Relief Fund and the L.A. Region Worker Relief Fund. 

“I urge all eligible businesses and workers impacted by the January wildfires to apply for this critical financial relief before the March 2 deadline,” said Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Chair Kathryn Barger.

The Worker Relief Fund offers $2,000 cash grants to workers while the Small Business Relief Fund provides cash grants ranging from $2,000 to $25,000 for businesses and nonprofits that suffered structural damage, equipment or inventory loss or significant revenue loss due to the wildfires. Priority is given to businesses that were completely destroyed. 

For anyone needing assistance with the application process, multilingual support is available throughout Los Angeles County at Disaster Recovery Centers, America’s Job Centers of California, BusinessSource and WorkSource Centers, the Department of Economic Opportunity’s Office of Small Business and Impacted Worker and Family Recovery Centers. Click here to view a list of the over 50 organizations offering in-person help and technical assistance.

Anyone who has general questions or has difficulty accessing technology can call or text Los Angeles County’s Small Business Relief Fund at (213) 523-3231.    

For detailed eligibility requirements, application instructions and helpful resources, visit laregionfund.lacounty.gov before the deadline.