An image shared on Facebook purports to show the recent fires in California. Verdict: False The image is not recent but shows a 2018 fire that occurred in the northern California town of Paradise, according to WHYY. The image was originally captured by The ...

Within days, the group blossomed into a Bay Area-wide community of people offering to donate items for fire victims.

The federal response to the California wildfires has so far mimicked the government’s response to Hurricane Helene hitting North Carolina in September 2024. In both instances, President Joe Biden declared disasters and later increased the percentage of costs the federal government would absorb for emergency work to 100%.