FEMA AUTHORIZES FUNDS TO FIGHT LIBERTY FIRE IN OREGON
[https://www.fema.gov/press-release/20230824/fema-authorizes-funds-fight-liberty-fire-oregon]


Release Date: 
August 24, 2023 

The state of Oregon’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
Wednesday, August 23, 2023, at 10:00 p.m. PT. He determined that
the Liberty Fire threatened to cause such destruction as would
constitute a major disaster. This is the second FMAG declared in 2023
to help fight Oregon wildfires.

At the time of the state’s request, the wildfire threatened homes in
and around the communities of Liberty, South Salem and Salem
Hills. The fire also threatened buildings, roads, bridges, public
power infrastructure and utilities 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 $918,774 will be available to Oregon 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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disasters._