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.”

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

DUPONT, Wash. – Federal grants to help Washington recover from the state’s worst wildfire season have topped $3.5 million, according to officials with the Washington Military Department’s Emergency Management Division (EMD) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

 

“FEMA grants offer significant financial relief for hard-hit communities in Washington,” said State Coordinating Officer Kurt Hardin of EMD. “From the emergency response through economic recovery, we’re all working together to get as much help as possible.”

 

The funding comes through FEMA’s Public Assistance program, which reimburses state and local governments, federally recognized tribes and certain nonprofit organizations for 75 percent of eligible disaster-related expenses. Grants may cover the costs of emergency protective measures, debris removal and the repair or replacement of disaster-damaged infrastructure.

 

“Although the dollars go to governments and nonprofits after a disaster, they benefit everyone in a community,” said Federal Coordinating Officer Thomas Dargan of FEMA. “The money helps pay for efforts to protect people and property, clean up neighborhoods, and repair roads and bridges.”

 

Federal assistance provided to date includes:

  • $1.4 millionPublic Utility District No. 1 of Chelan County—to restore power to 9,000 customers.

  • $349,000—Public Utility District No. 1 of Chelan County—to repair a mile-long transmission line and restore power to the Slide Ridge area

  • $303,000Okanogan County Electric Cooperative—to repair high-voltage power lines and replace 38 burned poles and seven damaged transformers.

  • $188,000Public Utility District No. 1 of Okanogan County—to repair a 6.5-mile section of high-voltage lines and a fiber optic network for Loup Loup.

  • $163,000Chelan County—for emergency measures and services performed by first responders and support staff who set up roadblocks, manned a 911 call center, and evacuated and sheltered people and pets.

  • $139,000Public Utility District No. 1 of Douglas County—to repair 11 miles of power lines and fiber optic cables between Chelan Falls and Wells Dam in Chelan County.

  • $106,000Lake Chelan Reclamation District—to repair district-owned infrastructure that supports a mile-long power line owned by the public utility.

  • $103,000Okanogan County—to repair asphalt surface on 43 roadways damaged by a mudslide and heavy traffic from firefighting equipment.

  • $98,000Ferry County—for emergency measures and services performed by first responders, mainly evacuations and efforts in support of fire crews, base camps, marine patrols, emergency medical care, and search-and-rescue operations.

  • $90,000Okanogan County—to clear 3,440 cubic yards of disaster-related debris that posed a threat to public health and safety.

The Oct. 20, 2015, major disaster declaration for the summer wildfires and mudslides made FEMA Public Assistance 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. EMD and FEMA officials have identified 39 eligible applicants.                             

Officials estimate FEMA Public Assistance grants may eventually total as much as $27 million for the 2015 wildfires.

Other EMD and FEMA efforts include the following programs and assistance:

  • After both the 2014 and 2015 wildfire seasons, EMD and FEMA formed a multijurisdictional team, called the Erosion Threat Assessment/Reduction Team, to evaluate the threat of flooding, debris flows and erosion in affected counties. Agencies and landowners used the team’s evaluation and recommendations to help prioritize and implement protective measures to address the threat.

  • While wildfires burned prior to the declaration, FEMA approved 12 Fire Management Assistance Grants in Washington to help defray fire-suppression costs for tribal, state and local jurisdictions.

  • The disaster declaration made further funding available through FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, which means the state will receive another reserve of money for mitigation measures, equal to 20 percent of total Public Assistance grants awarded. That provision will help build stronger and safer communities in Washington.

As with all federal funding, FEMA considers the environmental impact of every project and must ensure compliance with all applicable federal, tribal, state and local laws.

 

More information about the Public Assistance program is available on the FEMA website at

www.fema.gov/public-assistance-local-state-tribal-and-non-profit

and on the Washington EMD website at

http://mil.wa.gov/emergency-management-division/disaster-assistance/public-assistance

.

 

Additional information on the federal response to the 2015 wildfire disaster, including funds obligated, is available at

www.fema.gov/disaster/4243

.

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Wildfire Recovery Assistance for Washington Reaches $3.5 Million from FEMA

DUPONT, Wash. – More than $1.4 million has been awarded to the Chelan County Public Utility District No. 1 to help reimburse the utility for costs to restore power to thousands of residents during the summer 2015 wildfires, according to officials from the Washington Military Department’s Emergency Management Division (EMD) and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

The utility district will receive $1,459,947 from FEMA for reimbursement of expenses to restore power to 9,000 customers. The grant helps cover costs for replacing burned poles, damaged transformers, utility lines and miles of fiber optic line. The money will also help pay the cost of overtime for employees who worked around the clock to restore service.

“The utility district worked tirelessly to meet the needs of its customers during the wildfires,” said State Coordinating Officer Kurt Hardin of EMD. “This federal grant will help the district recover some of the enormous costs it incurred in doing so.”

The grant comes from FEMA’s Public Assistance (PA) program, which reimburse the state and state agencies, local and tribal governments, and certain private nonprofit organizations for their eligible expenses for disaster-related response and recovery.

Although funds go to government entities and nonprofits, the PA program is intended to benefit everyone — communities, cities and states. PA dollars help pay for efforts to keep residents and property safe during an event and clean up communities of disaster-related debris. They also help put utilities, roads and bridges, public parks and other infrastructure back in order after the disaster.

The disaster declaration for the Aug. 9 to Sept. 10, 2015, wildfires makes PA grants available to eligible applicants in Chelan, Ferry, Lincoln, Okanogan, Pend Oreille, Stevens, Whatcom and Yakima counties and the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation.

“FEMA has been working closely with EMD since the wildfire outbreak this summer, and our commitment to Washington’s recovery remains strong,” said Federal Coordinating Officer Thomas Dargan of FEMA. “These Public Assistance funds are a demonstration of that commitment.”

Under the PA program, FEMA reimburses applicants for 75 percent of eligible expenses, while the other 25 percent is the nonfederal share. The federal portion is paid directly to the state, which then makes disbursements to the local and tribal jurisdictions and organizations that incurred costs.

More information about the PA program is available at www.fema.gov/public-assistance-local-state-tribal-and-non-profit and on the Washington EMD website at http://mil.wa.gov/emergency-management-division/.

Information regarding the federal response to the summer wildfires, including funds obligated, is available at www.fema.gov/disaster/4243.

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FEMA Awards $1.4 Million to Chelan County Public Utility District for Wildfire Assistance

CAMP MURRAY, Wash. – Washington’s devastating 2014 and 2015 wildfire seasons put vast areas of the state at risk of erosion and flooding, posing additional dangers to residents and communities.  Today, a collaborative effort among all levels of government is finding ways to reduce that risk.

On Dec. 15-17, 2015, the Washington Military Department’s Emergency Management Division (EMD) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will host a three-day workshop in Wenatchee to address topics such as assessments of burned areas in Eastern Washington, efforts already undertaken to reduce threats, analysis of unmet needs, and potential funding sources for new efforts to protect people and infrastructure.

The workshop will bring together partners on the Erosion Threat Assessment/Reduction Team, or ETART, a group first formed following Washington’s Carlton Complex Fire of 2014 and reactivated following the Oct. 20, 2015, federal disaster declaration for this summer’s historic wildfires.

Federal participants on the ETART include FEMA, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the National Weather Service and the Natural Resources Conservation Service, among others.

The state and local partners include Washington EMD, the Washington State Conservation Commission, Department of Natural Resources, Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Okanagan and Whatcom conservation districts.

ETART relies on reports and assessments developed by various Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) teams. BAER is a process created by the U.S. Forest Service and modified and used by several local teams to determine erosion risks and recommend appropriate treatments.

“When the land is stripped of trees and other vegetation by fire, healthy roots that soak up rainwater are lost,” said Anna Daggett, FEMA’s ETART coordinator. “Even moderate rain on burn scars can cause flash flooding or debris flows that can severely damage infrastructure, homes and businesses downstream.”

After the president issued a major disaster declaration for the 2014 Carlton Complex Fire, FEMA’s Public Assistance program provided about $2.4 million in grants targeted specifically for ETART-identified projects to reduce immediate threats of significant additional damage to improved public or private property. The federal share amounted to 75 percent of the total cost of $3.2 million for these projects. The state and local partners covered 25 percent, or $800,000.

ETART assessments provided important information to EMD and FEMA to justify these grants.

The 2014 measures were able to reduce substantially the effects of the wildfires by clearing culverts and ditches of debris, installing straw wattles to counter erosion, shoring up breached pond dams, and spreading grass seed over vast areas that had burned.

“ETART has shown to be an effective way to address post-fire dangers,’ said Gary Urbas, EMD’s ETART coordinator. “Merging the work of so many experienced partners allows the team to tackle tough problems in our state.”

ETART now will be looking for additional financing streams, including other FEMA and federal programs as well as local and state sources, with the goal of significantly reducing damages resulting from post-fire flooding and erosion in Eastern Washington.

More information about the PA program is available at www.fema.gov/public-assistance-local-state-tribal-and-non-profit and on the Washington EMD website at http://mil.wa.gov/emergency-management-division/disaster-assistance/public-assistance.

Additional information regarding the federal response to the 2015 wildfire disaster, including funds obligated, is available at www.fema.gov/disaster/4243.

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Multiagency Team Working to Reduce Erosion and Flooding Threat in Eastern Washington

OLYMPIA, Wash. – Federal Emergency Management Agency mitigation specialists are on hand this week at Home Depot and Lowe’s in Yakima to provide information about ways to rebuild or remodel that can reduce the risk of damage from wildfire, flooding, flash flooding and other disasters. 

The advisors can answer questions about protecting homes from future disaster-related damage and offer tips to build hazard-resistant homes. They can also answer questions about FEMA’s National Flood Insurance Program.

Rebuilding or repairing a home after a disaster can be a daunting task – but, with the right information, homeowners can build back safer, smarter and stronger.

Homeowners and contractors can learn more at the following locations in Yakima from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Tuesday, Sept. 23 through Sunday, Sept. 28.

  • Home Depot, 2115 S. 1st St., Yakima, WA 98903
  • Lowe’s, 2235 Longfibre Ave., Yakima, WA 98903

To learn more about protecting your home from future disasters, visit EMD.WA.gov/Preparedness and FEMA.gov/rebuild/recover/build_safer.shtm. For more information on the National Flood Insurance Program, visit FloodSmart.gov.

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FEMA Mitigation Specialists Continue Outreach in Yakima