The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services declared a public health emergency for California on Friday to address the health impacts of the devastating wildfires in Los Angeles County.

The declaration provides greater flexibility for Medicare and Medicaid providers and suppliers, enabling them to address emergency health needs, officials said.

HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra made the announcement, following President Biden’s major disaster declaration.

“We will do all we can to assist California officials with responding to the health impacts of the devastating wildfires going on in Los Angeles County,” Becerra said in a statement. “We are working closely with state and local health authorities, as well as our partners across the federal government, and stand ready to provide public health and medical support.”

The Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response, an agency under the HHS umbrella, is on standby to deploy medical equipment, supplies and responders as requested, officials said.

ASPR has shared technical resources on wildfire response and mobilized volunteers from the Long Beach Medical Reserve Corps to assist local officials.

“ASPR is carefully monitoring hospitals and shelters in Los Angeles County devastated by the wildfires, and we are prepared to meet health care needs as part of the combined federal, state and local response,” said ASPR Assistant Secretary Dawn O’Connell.

HHS has activated its 24/7 Disaster Distress Helpline at 1-800-985-5990, providing multilingual crisis counseling for wildfire-related emotional distress. The agency also deployed resources from the HHS emPOWER program to assist at-risk individuals and issued temporary HIPAA waivers to support hospitals.

The public health emergency was put in place retroactive to Tuesday, enabling these measures under federal law.

The multiple wildfires raging in Los Angeles County have torched over 35,000 acres, destroyed hundreds of homes and businesses, and resulted in at least ten deaths.