FEMA AUTHORIZES FUNDS TO FIGHT THE SLIDE RANCH FIRE IN WASHINGTON
[https://www.fema.gov/press-release/20240624/fema-authorizes-funds-fight-slide-ranch-fire-washington]


Release Date: 
June 24, 2024 

BOTHELL, WASH. -  The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
authorized the use of federal funds to help with firefighting costs
for the Slide Ranch Fire burning on Confederated Tribes and Bands of
the Yakama Nation tribal land and in Yakima 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
Saturday, June 22, 2024, at 10:48 p.m. PT. He determined that
the Slide Ranch Fire threatened to cause such destruction as would
constitute a major disaster. This is the first FMAG declared in 2024
to help fight Washington wildfires. 

At the time of the state’s request, the wildfire threatened homes
and tribal cultural resources in and around the communities of White
Swan and Harrah.

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 $1,313,482 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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