FEMA AUTHORIZES FUNDS TO FIGHT LARCH CREEK FIRE IN OREGON
[https://www.fema.gov/press-release/20240711/fema-authorizes-funds-fight-larch-creek-fire-oregon]


Release Date: 
July 11, 2024 

BOTHELL, WASH. -  The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
authorized the use of federal funds to help with firefighting costs
for the Larch Creek Fire burning in Wasco County, Oregon. 

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 Deputy Administrator Vincent J.
Maykovich on Wednesday, July 10, 2024, at 10:09 p.m. PT. He determined
that the Larch Creek Fire threatened to cause such destruction as
would constitute a major disaster. This is the second FMAG declared
in 2024 to help fight Oregon wildfires. 

At the time of the state’s request, the wildfire threatened homes in
and around the communities of Pine Hollow, Shady Grove and Tygh
Valley. The fire also threatened County Highway 216 and State
Highway 197, cellular towers, gas utilities, electric utilities and
White River Falls recreational park. 

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 $985,111 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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