FEMA Authorizes Funds to Help Fight Utah’s Dump Fire 

Release Date: June 22, 2012
Release Number: R8-12-013

» 2012 Region VIII News Releases

DENVER, Colo. — The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has authorized the use of federal funds to help with firefighting costs for the Dump Fire in Utah County.

FEMA Deputy Regional Administrator Doug Gore approved the state’s request for a federal Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG) upon receiving the state’s request at 11:10 a.m. MDT Friday morning. At the time of the request, the fire was threatening 250 homes in and around Saratoga Springs, UT, population 2,000. Voluntary and mandatory evacuations were taking place in the area and affecting approximately 250 people. The fire was also threatening utilities, recreation areas and a watershed. At the time of the request, the fire had burned in excess of 800 acres on state and private lands.

The authorization makes FEMA funding available to pay 75 percent of the state’s eligible firefighting costs for managing, mitigating and controlling the fire. These grants do not provide assistance to individual home 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 and 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.

Last Modified: Friday, 22-Jun-2012 16:04:37