President Biden and California Gov. Gavin Newsom speak at Santa Monica Fire Department Station 5 on Wednesday. (Stephanie Scarbrough/AP)

President Biden announced Wednesday that he had approved a major disaster declaration for California in response to the ongoing wildfire disaster in the Los Angeles area.

In a press release, the White House said the declaration would allow “impacted communities and survivors to immediately access funds and resources to jumpstart their recovery.”

A federal disaster declaration can be issued “for any natural event the president believes has caused damage of such severity and magnitude that it is beyond the combined capabilities of State and local governments and disaster relief organizations to respond,” California’s Office of Emergency Services says on its website, and “provides a wide range of Federal assistance programs for individuals and public infrastructure, including funds for both emergency and permanent work.”

FEMA has also approved funding to help California cover the costs of wildfires raging in Los Angeles and Ventura counties, Biden said.

“Earlier tonight, FEMA approved a Fire Management Assistance Grant to support areas that are impacted and help reimburse the state of California for the immediate firefighting costs,” Biden said in a social media post on Tuesday. “My Administration will do everything it can to support the response.”

On its website, FEMA notes that Fire Management Assistance Grants “can include expenses for field camps, equipment use, materials, supplies and mobilization and demobilization activities attributed to fighting the fire.”

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who appeared with Biden at a fire command center in Los Angeles on Wednesday, praised the president for his quick approval of federal support.

But with the fires still 0% percent contained, the scope of the damage, as well as the price tag it could carry, is only just starting to emerge.