Wildfire Recovery Update: Federal Disaster Assistance May Surpass $170 Million

DUPONT, Wash. – After two record-breaking wildfire seasons burned over 1.6 million acres of the Evergreen State, Washington continues to make headway in its recovery, which may be spurred by $170 million in federal disaster assistance, according to officials with the Washington Military Department’s Emergency Management Division (EMD) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

“Help comes from friends, family and neighbors, as well as local, state and federal governments,” said State Coordinating Officer Kurt Hardin of EMD. “Progress improves when everyone works together.”

Last year in Washington, FEMA issued 12 Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG) declarations, which will help local, state and tribal jurisdictions pay their firefighting and suppression expenses. Whether day or night, if a fire rages on nonfederal land and threatens to cause enough destruction to warrant a major disaster declaration, FEMA can make an immediate FMAG declaration.

The federal share of those 12 FMAGs may add up to $53 million. With $42 million for the eight FMAGs in 2014, the grand total equals $95 million for 20 FMAGs over two years.

Both wildfire seasons prompted an emergency declaration, which authorized FEMA to provide direct assistance for measures needed to save lives, protect property, and safeguard public health and safety.

Major disaster declarations after both wildfire seasons provide financial relief through FEMA’s Public Assistance (PA) grants, which reimburses local, state and tribal governments for 75 percent of their disaster-related expenses. The state and the applicant split the remaining 25 percent.

The major disaster declaration for the 2015 wildfires made PA available to eligible applicants in eight counties: Chelan, Ferry, Lincoln, Okanogan, Pend Oreille, Stevens, Whatcom and Yakima; as well as the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation. The 2014 declaration made PA available to applicants in Kittitas and Okanogan counties and the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation.

Officials estimate PA grants for both wildfire seasons will run as high as $50 million—which includes about $26.5 million for 2015, with $4.8 million approved to date, and $23.6 million for 2014.

Although the funds go to government entities and nonprofits, Public Assistance benefits everyone— communities, cities and states. PA dollars help pay for efforts to keep people and property safe, clean up disaster-related debris, and put roads, utilities and public works back in order after the wildfires.

“FEMA serves as only one part of the wildfire recovery team,” said Federal Coordinating Officer Thomas Dargan of FEMA. “Many local, corporate, state, tribal and federal partners have pitched in and pulled together to help Washington recover.”

Besides the $145 million in FEMA grants listed above, another $25.6 million from this preliminary roundup of partners puts federal assistance past $170 million:

• The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) allocated more than $1.5 million in loans and grants to replant trees, restore grazing lands, replace lost livestock, repair damaged fences, and help pay for uninsured crop losses as a result of the 2015 wildfires. FSA set aside another $17 million to reimburse eligible landowners in Okanogan County 75 percent of the cost to replace more than 850 miles of destroyed fences. USDA Rural Development placed four families in multi-family housing projects in Okanogan and Chelan Counties, providing almost $10,000 in rental assistance and interest credit to the projects.
• Washington State Department of Commerce manages a competitive grant program that helps rural cities and counties tackle a wide range of serious challenges. Funding comes from annual Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) under the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). For wildfire recovery in 2015, Commerce awarded $2.1 million in CDBGs, notably $1 million to Okanogan County to expand the fire district’s emergency medical services facility and $1 million to the city of Brewster to construct an essential water reservoir for fire protection. Commerce is making an additional $4 million in CDBG funds available to help smaller disaster-affected communities—such as Entiat, Pateros and Twisp—leverage matching funds for essential facilities and services.
• The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has approved $1.08 million in low-interest disaster loans for loss or damage from the 2015 wildfires: six loans for nearly $700,000 to help residents repair or replace their disaster-damaged homes and personal property; and five loans for more than $380,000 to help small-business owners meet working capital needs.

While corporate contributions are too numerous to capture or count, corporate partners have made generous donations to wildfire survivors. As one example, the American Red Cross received $600,000 from corporate leaders and well-known businesses in Washington—including Boeing, Microsoft, Costco Wholesale, Amazon, Alaska Airlines, Puget Sound Energy, Weyerhaeuser, Chateau Ste. Michelle and the Madrona Venture Group, according to the Boeing website.

On behalf of the state, EMD administers FEMA disaster programs in Washington—such as FMAGs, Public Assistance and the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP)—and disburses funds to local, city, nonprofit, county, state and tribal applicants.

The major disaster declarations after both wildfire seasons made HMGP funds available statewide, which will build stronger and safer communities in Washington. Two more factors bolster that goal:

• Because EMD developed an enhanced State Mitigation Plan approved by FEMA in 2006, the state will get more money for mitigation measures, equal to 20 percent of total PA grants awarded for each disaster. For the 2015 wildfires, statewide HMGP funds will total as much as $6.3 million. For the 2014 wildfires, statewide HMGP funds will be close to $5 million.
• Under a new pilot program in HMGP, Washington may receive as much as $5.3 million in additional FEMA grants for projects aimed at reducing the risk of post-event fires, floods or erosion in the seven counties that received FMAG declarations in 2015.

Local partners remain crucial to the long-term recovery of residents who had uninsured losses from the fires. Community leaders in northern Washington, for example, formed the Carlton Complex Long-Term Recovery Group (CCLTRG) to address unmet needs caused by the 2014 Carlton Complex Fire, which was the largest fire in state history in the biggest county in the state—Okanogan County.

In addition to offering basic disaster services, CCLTRG leaders set their sights on building homes for displaced families who could not afford to rebuild. They knew new home construction would:

• prop up the community,
• strengthen the region’s tax base, and
• support its local farm, timber and ranching economies.

While Okanogan County struggled to recover from the physical, emotional and economic toll of the 2014 Carlton Complex Fire, the 2015 wildfire season scorched more than 1 million acres in north, central and eastern Washington. The 2015 Okanogan Complex fire alone burned more than a half-million acres—now crowned the largest in state history.

To aid in recovery, liaisons from EMD and FEMA helped CCLTRG identify potential funding sources and guided leaders on how to build and strengthen the organization. CCLTRG expanded its reach to become the Okanogan County Long-Term Recovery Group (OCLTRG) and broadened its mission to include boosting the county’s preparedness and resiliency to future disasters.

Today OCLTRG acts as an umbrella organization, advising other long-term recovery groups from distinct areas of north-central Washington and pooling resources. Leaders steer a workforce that includes hundreds of volunteers and dozens of charities and faith-based groups who help people—whether it’s finding furniture for a farmworker who lost everything in the fires or helping a rancher round up and pen his surviving cattle.

OCLTRG has built 15 modest homes and plans to build another 15 homes by the end of 2017. When possible, the builders use fire-resistant materials, clear underbrush, and landscape to create an open, defensible space around each house, which may provide some protection against future wildfires.

All totaled, the OCLTRG has raised more than $4.2 million in cash, checks and online contributions to the North Central Washington Community Foundation/Methow Valley Fund.

“Given its success and strong leadership, OCLTRG now serves as a national model to help other rural communities recover from wildfires,” said FCO Dargan. “I commend its leaders and their absolutely tireless efforts to build back a stronger and more resilient community.”