The Brief

Since Feb. 14, Transportation Security Administration staff have worked without pay due to the ongoing partial government shutdown — and with many calling out of work, passengers across the United States have experienced hourslong security screening lines.

This weekend, President Donald Trump announced that as of Monday, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents would be deployed to airports to support TSA operations.

The Trump administration said that ICE officers would be on duty to assist with airport security staffing. But the presence of ICE officers has sparked fear and uncertainty among travelers.

San Francisco International Airport, the Bay Area’s biggest airport, has been spared long wait lines by the fact that its security screening is contracted by a private company rather than TSA.

But on Sunday night, in an incident captured on video, plainclothes immigration officers were seen at SFO forcefully handling a woman in front of her young child. SFO was not on the list of 14 airports obtained by CNN where ICE would be appearing.

While standing in line, open up the airline app and rebook yourself, says travel reporter Chris Dong.

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So what should you know about ICE in U.S. airports right now? Keep reading for what we know about immigration officers, air travel and your rights around ICE officers.

Bear in mind that the following information doesn’t constitute legal advice, and you should direct any specific questions about your individual situation to a lawyer.

Which U.S. airports have ICE been deployed to?

According to reporting by The New York Times, 14 airports around the country will host ICE agents.

CNN reported that these locations include Chicago-O’Hare International Airport, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, John F. Kennedy International and LaGuardia airports in New York and Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport.

No California airports appear on CNN’s current list.

On Tuesday, a TSA spokesperson confirmed to KQED that ICE would be deployed to “airports being adversely impacted” by TSA callouts and resignations — and that none of these were in the Bay Area.

Why was ICE at SFO on Sunday?

In footage from around 10 p.m. Sunday that was posted to social media, men wearing dark clothing were filmed at SFO pulling a crying woman from an airport terminal bench and then pushing her into a wheelchair — as a girl of around 10 is heard crying nearby. San Francisco police officers were seen standing by as the arrest occurred.

The men are not wearing visible badges or agency markings, but the Department of Homeland Security said on the social media platform X Monday that they were, in fact, ICE officers.

According to a DHS spokesperson, the woman and her daughter were arrested at the airport and were being “escorted to the international terminal for processing” when the woman tried to flee. Read more about Sunday night’s incident at SFO. As reported by The New York Times on Tuesday evening, ICE had originally been alerted to the pair’s presence at SFO by TSA.

According to a statement released by SFO, the airport was “not involved in or notified in advance of this incident.”

“We understand federal officers were transporting two individuals on an outbound flight when this incident occurred,” the statement reads. “We believe this is an isolated incident and have no reason to suspect broader enforcement action at SFO.”

San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie echoed the airport’s statement on Monday in a social media post. Lurie said in his statement that local law enforcement “does not participate in federal civil immigration enforcement,” although some immigration attorneys have nonetheless questioned SFPD’s presence during the arrest.

As of Monday afternoon, local immigration advocates said they were still assessing the situation and working to “confirm all the facts related to this incident.”

“After killing people in our streets and detaining U.S. citizens, ICE has lost all credibility and trust with the public,” Bay Area Rep. Kevin Mullin and Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi said in a joint statement. “We demand immediate answers as to the mother’s and her child’s condition and the grounds for their detainment.”

Can ICE arrest people at the airport?

Yes, there have been documented instances of ICE arresting people at airports.

Jonathan Blazer, director of border strategies and senior advisor at the American Civil Liberties Union, said that there is “nothing that categorically prohibits ICE from going into an airport as an immigration enforcement agent.”

For example, Blazer said, ICE agents have used commercial flights in the past to transport individuals on deportation flights — or to transfer arrested people to immigration detention centers.

Travelers and their luggage in a terminal at Los Angeles International Airport.

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Additionally, as first reported by The New York Times in December 2025, TSA has shared information about air travelers who are believed to be under deportation orders with ICE, enabling immigration agents to make arrests at the airport.

But Blazer said that this week’s deployment of ICE to airports — the “mere presence for this purpose, in an untargeted fashion, in large numbers” — was “unprecedented.”

According to CNN on Tuesday morning, Trump said that agents will continue arresting undocumented people, but said of ICE agents in airports: “That’s not why they’re there; they’re really there to help.” (Most TSA officers are not commissioned law enforcement officers.)

“Part of what’s so challenging here is that the Trump administration hasn’t really made clear what authorities they are vesting with ICE as part of this mission,” Blazer said.

In its roundup of risks of air travel, the National Immigration Law Center said that for people who are undocumented, have temporary immigration status or who are under a deportation order, there is “a significant risk of arrest at a U.S. airport.”

However, NILC also said that “all non-citizens face some risk” while traveling through U.S. airports, including those with green cards, if they have certain criminal convictions or who have Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals status.

Advocates encourage passengers who aren’t U.S. citizens to talk to a lawyer about their specific situation before traveling.

Customs and Border Protection already regularly works in airports. What’s the difference between their powers and ICE’s?

ICE and CBP are both immigration enforcement agencies within DHS.

While ICE conducts enforcement within the U.S. and manages detention and deportation operations, CBP conducts inspections at all U.S. “ports of entry” — at land borders, seaports and airports.

ACLU’s Blazer said that while CBP has a lot of “power when they’re screening people coming in on an international flight,” that doesn’t apply to domestic flights. For example, CBP — and ICE — should not be able to check your electronic devices without a warrant for a domestic flight.

Nicole Hallett, director of the Immigrants’ Rights Clinic and a clinical professor of law at the University of Chicago, told the Washington Post that ICE cannot search a passenger’s personal belongings without a warrant — and can only do this if they are working on behalf of an agency that can, like CBP.

“If they’re acting as a TSA agent, they have to follow TSA rules. If they’re acting as a CBP agent and doing Border Patrol work, then they have the authority that Border Patrol has,” Hallett said.

“And if they are just merely standing in the airport as ICE officers, then they have the same legal authority that any ICE officer standing in a public location has,” she said. (Regardless, she said that ICE can approach passengers anywhere in the airport, including after security.)

What should I do if ICE approaches me in the airport?

At border checkpoints — including airports — officers can ask questions, carry out personal searches and detain people with wide latitude, Ahilan Arulanantham, co-director of the UCLA School of Law’s Center for Immigration Law & Policy, told NPR.

But Blazer said that in order for ICE to arrest someone for an immigration violation without a warrant, they would need to establish probable cause that the person is in the U.S. in violation of U.S. immigration laws — and that the person is likely to escape before a warrant can be obtained for the arrest. There has been recent litigation across the country challenging some of ICE’s warrantless arrests, he said.

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ICE officers “have no additional authority in an airport,” Blazer said. But in reality, he said, the constitutional protections and rights people have can be “a lot trickier to make the choice to exercise them” in an airport setting for most people — who are dealing not only with the added pressures of catching expensive flights but also the impatience of other passengers in the security line.

For example, people — whether citizens or immigrants — have the right to ask an immigration officer, “Am I free to go?” If they don’t have a specific, individualized, reasonable suspicion that you’ve committed a crime, they can’t question you further and you can go, Blazer said.

“But let’s think about how that works in the airport context,” he said. “‘Am I free to go?’ and leaving means that I’m probably leaving the airport to get myself out of a situation, and I may miss my flight at that point.”

Do I have to answer ICE’s questions at the airport?

If an ICE agent asks you questions in the airport, you “have the same right to remain silent as you do on the street,” Blazer said. “Nothing changes just because you’re in an airport.”

But this is another example of how the pressures of the airport setting can affect your situation, Blazer said. If you choose to exercise your right to remain silent, the officer may pull you out of the security line and try to ask more questions.

“We have the same rights, but in that environment, there are additional costs associated with exercising those rights,” Blazer said. “Many people in that situation, out of their own self-interest … ‘go along to get along’ as much as possible.”

What if ICE asks me for ID?

According to reporting from USA Today, travelers do need to provide identification and comply with TSA screening to board a flight. But generally, citizens and immigrants have the right to remain silent when talking to law enforcement, including ICE.

The Asian Law Caucus said that if you believe you are being taken into ICE custody, you should practice your right to remain silent and should not answer any questions. You should also not sign any documents without a lawyer reviewing them, the organization said.

Blazer said that federal law said people with lawful permanent residency or other visas that grant them lawful status must carry proof of their status with them — like their green card. “And it may be in their interest, in terms of avoiding further improper questioning or improper unlawful arrests, to answer those questions and to show that proof of status,” Blazer said.

“So even though you have a right not to, I want to make clear that people are going to need to make an individualized decision as to whether it’s in their interest to exercise that right,” he said. “Especially if they are an adult green cardholder or somebody else who is subject to a federal law requiring them to carry proof of their status at all times.”

Is it legal to film ICE?

“Taking photographs and video of things that are plainly visible in public spaces is a constitutional right — and that includes police and other government officials carrying out their duties,” the ACLU’s guidance reads.

And while there’s no Supreme Court ruling on an unambiguous First Amendment right to film law enforcement officers, “all of the seven U.S. Federal Circuit Courts that have considered the issue have pretty much said there is a First Amendment right to record the police and observe the police,” criminal justice reporter C.J. Ciaramella at Reason told KQED’s Close All Tabs podcast earlier this year.

Atlanta Police Department officers look on as travelers stand in long lines at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport on March 23, 2026, in Atlanta, Georgia.

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But airports could be a potentially harder environment to film, Blazer said.

“It’s not as though the First Amendment doesn’t exist at airports, but airports are not traditional public domain in a way that parks [are],” Blazer said. For example, some TSA security lines have a sign nearby that says “no photos.”

“They rarely enforce that, but it just shows you that it’s already a more regulated environment in which they can impose certain restrictions,” Blazer said.

It is lawful to film law enforcement in “any open, visible place when they’re performing their duties,” Blazer said, echoing the guidance laid out in this thorough guide by the ACLU.

“But at the same time, it can be permissible for airport operators to impose certain reasonable rules, and those rules might include restricting photographing in particular areas of the airport,” Blazer said.

Practically, it could be hard to argue against an airport official who is telling you not to take photos in an area, Blazer said. And there may be a legal fight after the fact, “if a person doesn’t comply with that order and is arrested or is taken out of the line,” he said.

“But, I think, the practical reality is that” in an airport “environment, it gets harder to exercise that right,” he said.

Bystander videos also provide important counternarratives to official law enforcement accounts. After the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti by ICE officers in Minnesota earlier this year, Trump administration officials immediately claimed Pretti was a “domestic terrorist” intending to “massacre” officers — claims contradicted by the multiple eyewitness videos taken of the killing.

Officials with the Trump administration have, however, characterized filming ICE as “violence” and “doxing,” and Americans have faced detention by ICE after filming agents.

So all in all, while recording ICE might be your constitutional right, it also brings increasing risks. Read more about the logistics — and risks — of recording law enforcement officers like ICE agents.

What do immigrant advocates say about traveling during this time? 

San Francisco advocacy group Mission Action warns that noncitizens who do not currently have legal status “should carefully consider the risks of air travel, including domestic flights within the U.S.”

“Recent reporting suggests increased risks, including that TSA may be sharing traveler information with ICE, which could expose individuals to enforcement,” their social media post reads.

The Alameda County Immigration Legal Education Partnership said people should “talk to an attorney before flying to understand your risk.” The guidance suggested people plan extra time before traveling and keep key documents — like proof of lawful status, pending applications or certified copies of criminal cases if the case was closed — on hand. The organization emphasized that people should not “sign anything” they’re given by immigration agents that they “don’t understand.”

The ACLU Northern California has a page that breaks down your rights at the airport and whether or not border officers can ask about your immigration status.

According to ACLU NorCal, U.S. citizens only have to “answer questions establishing your identity and citizenship (in addition to customs-related questions).”

However, the organization cautions that “refusing to answer routine questions about the nature and purpose of your travel could result in delay and/or further inspection.”

Noncitizen visa holders and visitors who refuse to answer questions could face a delay or be denied entry. Lawful permanent residents, like green card holders, only have to answer questions about their identity and permanent residency, according to ACLU NorCal.

“Refusal to answer other questions will likely cause delay, but officials may not deny you entry into the U.S. for failure to answer other questions,” ACLU NorCal advised legal permanent residents — noting that green card status “may be revoked only by an immigration judge,” and warning, “Do not give up your green card voluntarily!”

The Asian Law Caucus also has a helpful chart on what people of differing statuses can expect in airports when it comes to their baggage, device searches and length of potential detainment.

What should I do if I think I see ICE in an airport?

Instead of posting possible ICE sightings to social media, immigration advocates highly encourage people to call them first instead. With these hotlines, advocates can fact-check these sightings, with the goal of preventing the spread of misinformation online.

You can find the complete and updated list of rapid response numbers on the California Collaborative for Immigrant Justice’s website.

You can also follow these organizations on their social media accounts to see if these are confirmed sightings or just rumors.

Immigration agents detained someone I know. How do I find them?

Typically, a person of any status can be detained up to 72 hours at a port of entry, according to the Asian Law Caucus. They can also be transferred to criminal or ICE custody.

KQED has a guide that walks you through how to potentially locate someone through different detention centers.

The primary way to find someone is through ICE’s Online Detainee Locator System. You can also call ICE at 866-347-2423.

According to the Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project, it may take a few days for a person to appear in the ICE database. If the name you’re searching for isn’t showing up in the ICE system — or if you’re concerned about their safety and possible deportation — you can seek out assistance from advocacy organizations such as Freedom for Immigrants.

This story contains reporting from KQED’s Katie DeBenedetti, Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí, Tyche Hendricks and Carly Severn.

California has been preparing to fill a budget gap for gender-affirming care procedures after the federal government pulled the funds under the direction of President Donald Trump and Mehmet Oz, administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

LAist crunched the numbers to see if the state has budgeted enough, and here’s what we found.

Youth on Medi-Cal bill $1 million yearly for hormones

People under 18 covered by Medi-Cal filed about $1 million in claims in 2025 for hormone replacement therapy and puberty blockers, according to data California’s Department of Health Care Services. That accounted for about 4,000 claims.

Some providers that take trans youth patients on Medi-Cal, like Children’s Hospital Los Angeles’ trans youth clinic, closed last year, though many doctors still were able to write out prescriptions that lasted patients for months after that.

Some care remains covered 

Medi-Cal also covered 4,800 claims for about 1,500 Medi-Cal members under 18 in 2025 for “doctor visits, counseling, surgeries, speech therapy, and other services,” totaling $6.4 million. Gender-affirming surgeries are only recommended for minors in rare circumstances.

However, the restrictions in the federal Medicaid rule only affect puberty blockers, hormone replacement therapy and surgeries, according to health policy organization KFF, so services like mental health treatment would still be reimbursable with federal funds. The rule, which would take effect Oct. 13, also lets states pay for minors’ gender-affirming hormone treatments and surgeries themselves.

The state has already set aside two pots of money to close gaps in funding for gender-affirming healthcare services: a $30 million fund for gender-affirming care and abortion services, and a $26 million trust fund specifically for trans healthcare. California Health & Human Services Agency leaders anticipate the funds will cover these Medi-Cal services over the next three years.

Medi-Cal’s budget

The overall Medi-Cal program budget during this period was almost $200 billion, according to state data. Transgender youth health services, including mental health services, make up just 0.004% of the plan’s budget.

Medi-Cal administers both the federal Medicaid program and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) under a Medicaid expansion allowed for by the Affordable Care Act.

“The federal rule applies solely to federal Medicaid and CHIP funding; California will determine any adjustments needed to align with federal requirements,” California Department of Health Care Services spokesperson Anthony Cava said in a statement. “California remains committed to safeguarding access to medically necessary care for Medi-Cal members, including gender-affirming care.”

Medi-Cal agencies like L.A. Care have stated that they are continuing to cover gender-affirming care services.

Issues may still arise

While they celebrated the establishment of the fund, trans healthcare advocates have noted that some issues may arise due to providers who are unsure how the new state rules apply.

The California Legislative LGBTQ Caucus has also said it’s bracing for future budget years to be “even more challenging as federal funding cuts and attacks on targeted investments to marginalized communities continue to threaten critical services.”

Meanwhile, California Attorney General Rob Bonta has denounced the restrictions on federal funding since they were first floated last year. A lawsuit has not yet been announced, but a spokesperson for his office told LAist, “We are closely reviewing the final rule.”

After homelessness advocates pushed a Los Angeles City Council member to change how the city treats encampments in his district, the full City Council voted Tuesday to selectively stop enforcing a law that bans unhoused people from sleeping in certain areas.

A controversial policy

One of the city’s most controversial enforcement laws on homelessness is found in section 41.18 of L.A.’s municipal code. It allows local elected leaders to establish zones where unhoused people cannot sit, lie down, sleep or keep belongings on sidewalks or other public areas.

What's new?

Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martinez — who represents a district including Hollywood, Silver Lake and Echo Park — recently introduced a motion to remove some of the 41.18 districts established by his predecessor, Mitch O'Farrell.

On Tuesday, the council voted 10-3 to allow some zones to be erased in Soto-Martinez’s district. The zones include underpasses in Silver Lake, underpasses in Echo Park and 101 Freeway overpasses in Hollywood.

Soto-Martinez said he believed today’s measure was the first effort to have 41.18 zones removed rather than put in place.

The debate

Supporters of 41.18 have said the policy allows officials to keep encampments away from schools, parks and other areas deemed “sensitive” by the city, enabling parents to keep their children away from encampments and helping to keep important pedestrian infrastructure clear.

Critics have said the policy doesn’t reliably keep encampments away from sensitive sites because people simply return after sweeps that don't offer them housing.

In Tuesday’s meeting, Soto-Martinez said enforcement in some of these areas leads to unhoused people losing their belongings, becoming lost to outreach workers and sometimes getting arrested.

“To me, that is a policy that does not work,” Soto-Martinez said in Tuesday’s meeting. “In our district, these zones were making it harder to do the things that do work.”

Councilmember Nithya Raman, now running for mayor, has also argued the policy is ineffective, saying it merely moves encampments to other blocks without getting people into housing.

A 2023 report from L.A.’s lead homelessness agency, first covered by LAist, concluded that the policy hadn’t kept most areas clear of encampments, and was “generally ineffective” at connecting people to housing.

Dissenting votes

Some council members strongly defend using 41.18 in their districts. Three voted against rescinding the zones in Soto-Martinez’s district.

Monica Rodriguez, council member for a district that covers much of the northeast San Fernando Valley, said during Tuesday’s meeting that “41.18 was never intended to be the solution to our homeless problem. In fact quite the opposite. It’s just about protecting public spaces for families who want to be able to take their kids to the park and not have to be exposed to it.”

El Niño is officially with us, and it’s looking like it’s likely going to be a doozy.

The natural global climate pattern temporarily warms the eastern tropical Pacific, causing extreme weather patterns across the globe. A strong El Niño has historically, though not always, been associated with very wet winters here in Southern California.

“ We are now explicitly expecting the strongest El Niño event ever observed,” said UCLA climate scientist Daniel Swain. “ There will be a strong tilt in the odds towards wet, perhaps even very wet conditions in Southern California.”

Maybe you remember the very wet El Niños of years past — 1982 and 1997. Both were historic events that led to billions of dollars in damage and dozens of deaths.

“This is highly likely to exceed what occurred in [1982 or 1997], and by a considerable margin,” Swain said.

The good news? You still have time to prepare.

Experts emphasize that people need to develop an understanding of their personal risk, talk to neighbors who may have experienced flooding in the past and consider getting insured.

Know your risk

The Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, compiles flood risk maps (you can also use this L.A. County map here).

Be aware that they are not comprehensive and can be out-of-date. Also, they include only risk from coastal flooding, such as tides and waves, as well as from rivers, creeks, channels and levies, which risk spilling over after back-to-back severe storms.

But the maps don’t include flood risk from short, heavy downpours or mudflows in recent burn zones, said Brett Sanders, a professor leading UC Irvine’s Flood Lab. So even if your home is not within an official flood zone, you could be at risk.

“What used to be grasslands and open space has been covered more and more by asphalt and concrete,” Sanders said. “And so more and more water runs off and these flood risks are increasing.”

Flooding diverts traffic on a Long Beach street in 2024.

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His lab has been working to figure out how to develop more comprehensive flood maps, to better determine risks and reflect changes brought on by a warming climate.

But Sanders said one of your best bets to prepare is low-tech: speak with neighbors or officials who know your local area, and remember how past severe rain events have affected your street or neighborhood. For example, if you live at the base of a hill, or in a basement or ground-level apartment, you’re more likely to see some water flow. That historical memory can help you develop a plan for a worst-case scenario.

“Some common sense local awareness from people is really valuable,” Sanders said. “Talk to somebody that's been around for a while. Ask them, ‘Do you remember floods happening here in the past?’ Or, ‘What happened in 1997 when we had our last really wet El Nino?’”

Once you know, consider filling sand bags ahead of time, keep drainages around and on your house clear, and think about how flooding may affect your travel routes.

People who live in recent wildfire burn areas are likely through the worst of it, Swain said.

“ I think the initial highest risk period will have passed by this winter,” he said.

Still, mudflow is possible. So remember how mud flowed during the storms soon after the 2025 L.A. fires and make sure you have what you need to protect your property and evacuate safely if needed.

Consider flood insurance

Homeowners and renters should take a moment to read their current insurance policies closely. Most homeowners insurance, as well as renters insurance, does not include coverage for flooding (water damage coverage is not flood coverage). Less than 2% of Californians have flood insurance at all.

If you don’t have it, get a quote, said Amy Bach, director of United Policyholders, a nonprofit that advocates for insurance consumers. Flood insurance is usually a lot cheaper than typical insurance.

“ Don't make a decision not to carry flood insurance without getting a quote,” she said. “Find out how much it would cost before you decide.”

If you do get flood insurance, it’ll take about a month to kick in, so you want to start looking now before the official start of the wet season in October.

You can get flood insurance through the National Flood Insurance Program, or some private companies. United Policyholders has a variety of resources to figure out which product is right for you. Bach also pointed to a tool by the California Department of Insurance to compare various insurers based on complaints against them, as well the Federal Alliance for Safe Homes, which can help you identify your risks.

“If it rains, it can flood,” Bach said. “And that is more true today than it used to be.”

This story first appeared on The LA Local.

Hundreds of East Los Angeles households near the site of the Lineage warehouse fire will begin receiving a one-time $200 utility credit on their Southern California Edison bills after weeks of pressure from residents and L.A. County Supervisor Hilda Solis to extend relief beyond Boyle Heights. 

Lineage, the owner of the cold-storage warehouse, initially provided $50,000 in utility assistance to 218 Los Angeles Department of Water and Power customers in Boyle Heights. Residents in unincorporated East L.A., including some who live just blocks from the warehouse, were not included in that support. 

Last week, David Eisenhauer, a representative with Southern California Edison (SCE), told Boyle Heights Beat that Lineage provided $26,600 to cover $200 credits for 133 households in East L.A. These residents live within a boundary designated as Zone 2, which stretches between Indiana Street and Hicks Avenue, and Union Pacific Avenue and the 5 Freeway. SCE said customers living within the boundary will receive an automatic $200 credit applied to their accounts. 

The expansion came after Solis called on Lineage to provide East L.A. residents with the same level of support that was given to the city.

“Lineage has a responsibility to provide fair and equitable support to everyone affected by this disaster, including delivering the remaining $25,000 in utility assistance that was allocated for East Los Angeles residents,” Solis said in a statement to Boyle Heights Beat. 

“After learning that Lineage was working with the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power to provide utility assistance to Boyle Heights residents, I made clear that East Los Angeles residents deserved the same level of support through Southern California Edison,” Solis said. 

On Monday, a Lineage representative told the Beat that the relief had been expanded to cover hundreds more households in East L.A., extending as far as Herbert Avenue. The company has not yet determined the exact amount of support it will provide and some SCE customers’ credits are still being distributed.

The utility assistance comes as residents continue to report higher electricity bills after relying on air purifiers and air conditioners to cope with the stench of rotting food inside the warehouse and poor air quality following the June 17 warehouse fire. 

Why some residents qualify and others don’t

The boundaries of Lineage’s relief programs have been a source of confusion for residents. 

At a virtual community meeting hosted by the mayor’s office last Thursday, a resident sent in a question asking, “Why are not all residents affected by the fire and stench eligible for financial assistance?”

Officials have used a map dividing the area around the warehouse into Zones 1, 2 and 3, with the zones representing the areas closest to the fire. It is unclear who created the map and how those boundaries were established. 

A map of Zones 1, 2 and 3 used by Lineage to determine the type of support offered to households closest to the Lineage warehouse.

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Lineage has used the map to determine which households are eligible for various forms of relief, including air purifiers, air conditioners, housing support, grocery vouchers, cash assistance and utility credits. 

For weeks, residents have called for broader relief, saying the effects of the fire and lingering odors have affected not only homes close to the warehouse, but neighboring areas as well. 

In response, Jenny Delwood, deputy chief of staff to L.A. Mayor Karen Bass said that while the areas closest to the warehouse had been prioritized, “… Bass and her partners from the county and city are working to raise additional funding to provide more utility assistance and additional bill payments for a larger geographic area.”

Details on expanded support for households outside of the boundary were not immediately available.

How to know if you qualify: 

According to SCE, customers living between Indiana Street, Herbert Avenue, Union Pacific Avenue and the 5 Freeway will begin receiving an automatic credit to their account.

No further action is required from qualified customers.

LADWP customers living between Los Palos Street, Indiana Street, Union Pacific Avenue and Beswick Street received an automatic credit to their account on July 31.

What support is available for residents who live outside of the boundary?

SCE customers can apply for:

• A number of income-based programs with discounts, including the California Alternate Rates for Energy and Family Electric Rate Assistance. 
• Payment plans, including a long-term installment plan, so customers can spread their balance over time with manageable payments, and the Budget Billing Plan, which helps spread energy costs more evenly throughout the year. (For customers within the impact boundary who enter into a long-term installment plan, the down payment for a new payment plan will be waived.) 
• The Energy Assistance Fund, which provides one-time bill assistance of up to $200. SCE works with United Way and over 80 community-based organizations to provide the assistance but customers need to apply directly through the organization. To find the partner organization closest to you, click here.
• Customers in areas affected by the fire can get more information on SCE’s support programs here.

LADWP customers can request:

• Payment arrangements: No down payment, no interest, no fees; A long-term payment option that divides the total account balance evenly across a specified number of billing periods.
• Payment extension: A short-term payment option that gives customers additional time, up to one billing period, to pay their full balance.
• Level pay: A billing option that helps you plan by providing predictable monthly bills based on average usage. You can also roll in past-due balances.

To inquire about these programs, call 1-800-DIAL-DWP, visit a customer service center or use the online form on LADWP.com/ContactUs.

LADWP customers can also apply for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) through the Maravilla Foundation. But the Maravilla Foundation website says that due to reduced government funding and high demand, fewer applications are being accepted. To qualify for LIHEAP, the monthly income for a family of four must not exceed $6,407.16. A full list of requirements and application instructions can be found here.