Hurricane Hilary moving toward California; FEMA personnel in Hawaiʻi will not relocate

FEMA is tracking Hurricane Hilary as it approaches California, which could bring tropical storm conditions starting this weekend into Monday. 

The area in the path of the storm has not experienced this type of weather in decades. There is the potential for catastrophic and life-threatening flooding over Baja California and the southwestern United States, including parts of Nevada and Arizona, through Monday, according to FEMA.

But while the Federal Emergency Management Agency is gearing up for the response to Hilary, FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell said Saturday that no FEMA personnel in Hawaiʻi to help with the wildfires recovery efforts would be relocated to the mainland to help with the storm.

“We are not moving any of our resources off of Maui,” she said. “So everybody who is there is committed to supporting the current search efforts as well as starting the longterm recovery efforts.”

Since President Biden declared a major disaster declaration for the state of Hawaiʻi, FEMA has approved more than $7 million in assistance to more than 2,200 households.

The Joint Donations and Volunteer Management Task Force is coordinating with the Maui Mayor’s office to efficiently distribute donated resources to areas of need.

At the state’s request, more than 1,000 federal employees are in Hawaiʻi to help the state recover from the devastating wildfires, including more than 450 search and rescue team members and personnel K9 teams that continue to meticulously search for victims. To learn more about FEMA’s work with Hawaiʻi, county and federal partners, visit FEMA.gov.