FEMA AUTHORIZES FUNDS TO FIGHT NEWELL ROAD FIRE IN WASHINGTON
[https://www.fema.gov/press-release/20230724/fema-authorizes-funds-fight-newell-road-fire-washington]


Release Date: 
July 24, 2023 

BOTHELL, WASH. -  The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
authorized the use of federal funds to help with firefighting costs
for the Newell Road Fire burning in Klickitat County, Washington. 

The state of Washington’s request for a federal Fire Management
Assistance Grant
[https://www.fema.gov/fire-management-assistance-grant-program] (FMAG)
was approved by FEMA Region 10 Administrator Willie G. Nunn on Sunday,
July 23, 2023, at 12:14 a.m. PT. He determined that the Newell Road
Fire threatened to cause such destruction as would constitute a major
disaster. This is the fourth FMAG declared in 2023 to help fight
Washington wildfires. 

At the time of the state’s request, the wildfire threatened homes in
and around the communities of Roosevelt and Bickleton. The fire also
threatened Klickitat County Public Utility District, Bonneville Power
Administration Powerlines, Republic Solid Waste Landfill, and wind and
solar farms in the area. 

FMAGs are provided through the President's Disaster Relief Fund and
are made available by FEMA to assist in fighting fires that threaten
to cause a major disaster. Eligible items can include expenses for
field camps; equipment use, repair, and replacement; mobilization and
demobilization activities; and tools, materials, and supplies. This
authorization makes FEMA funding available to pay 75 percent of the
state’s eligible firefighting costs under an approved grant for
managing, mitigating, and controlling designated fires. These grants
do not provide assistance to individual home or business owners and do
not cover other infrastructure damage caused by the fire. 

In addition to the firefighting funds authorized under this FMAG,
another $1,225,032 will be available to Washington through the Hazard
Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) Post Fire
[https://www.fema.gov/grants/mitigation/post-fire] for the mitigation
of future wildfires and related hazards, such as flood after fire or
erosion. Some eligible wildfire project types include defensible space
measures, ignition-resistant construction, and hazardous fuels
reduction. The Disaster Recovery Reform Act of 2018
[https://www.fema.gov/disaster/disaster-recovery-reform-act-2018]
authorizes FEMA to provide HMGP Post-Fire
[https://www.fema.gov/hazard-mitigation-grant-program-post-fire] funds
to eligible states and territories that receive Fire Management
Assistance declarations and federally recognized tribes that have
land burned within a designated area.  

                              
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Follow FEMA Region 10 on Twitter [https://twitter.com/femaregion10]
and LinkedIn [http://www.linkedin.com/company/fema-region-10] for the
latest updates and visit FEMA.gov
[https://www.fema.gov/about/organization/region-10] for more
information.

 

_FEMA’s mission is helping people before, during, and after
disasters._