FEMA provides federal funds to help fight Snag Canyon Fire

FEMA provides federal funds to help fight Snag Canyon Fire

Seattle, WA – The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has authorized the use of federal funds to help with firefighting costs for the Snag Canyon Fire, burning in Kittitas County, Washington.

FEMA Region X Regional Administrator, Kenneth D. Murphy determined that the Snag Canyon Fire threatened such destruction as would constitute a major disaster.  Murphy approved the state’s request for federal Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG) on August 3, 2014 at 3:15 p.m. PDT.

On August 3, 2014, the State of Washington submitted a request for a fire management assistance declaration for the Snag Canyon Fire, burning in Kittitas County.  At the time of the request, 180 homes were threatened and about 600 people had evacuated the area.  The fire started on August 2, 2014, and at least 8 fires are burning uncontrolled in Kittitas County and the Snag Canyon Fire has consumed approximately 3,000 acres of State, and private land.  Firefighting resources from local, State, and Federal, and out of state are fighting the fire,  include strike teams , type 2 IA crews, air resources, tenders and  type 2 Incident Management Team   to support fire suppression activity as of August 3, 2014. The Federal Principal Advisor confirmed the threat to homes, dams, overhead power lines, and rail line.  The fire is currently uncontained.

A state of emergency was declared by the Governor late Tuesday, July 14 in 20 Eastern Washington counties in response to multiple wildfires threatening homes, businesses, public infrastructure, and natural resources in many parts of the state as fire crews face continued severe fire weather conditions.

The authorization makes FEMA funding available to pay 75 percent of Washington State’s eligible firefighting costs under an approved grant for managing, mitigating and controlling designated fires. These grants provide reimbursement for firefighting and life-saving efforts. They do not provide assistance to individuals, homeowners or business owners and do not cover other infrastructure damage caused by the fire.

Fire Management Assistance Grants are provided through the President’s Disaster Relief Fund and 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.

FEMA’s mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards.

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