The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has approved the use of federal funds to help the state of California to fight against the Dixie Fire.
FREMONT, CA: The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has approved the use of federal funds to help the state of California to fight against the Dixie Fire that is burning in Plumas County.
California applied for a Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG) for the Dixie Fire on July 20. The fire damaged around 800 homes in and near Belden at the time of the request. Electric transmission lines and the Red Hill Microwave Communication Site were also affected by the fire. Around 1,500 people were subjected to mandatory evacuations, while 600 people chose to leave on their own.
As the fire projected to become a major catastrophe, the FEMA regional administrator authorized the state's application on July 20.
FMAGs offer up to 75 percent of qualified firefighting expenditures in the form of federal funds. FEMA's Disaster Relief Fund gives FMAGs allowances to help fight fires that threaten to create severe disasters. FMAGs can cover expenses for field camps, equipment usage, materials, supplies, and mobilization, and demobilization actions related to fighting the fire.
Fire Management Assistance is provided to states, local governments, and tribal governments to prevent, manage, and control fires that threaten to destroy publicly or privately held forests or grasslands and would create a significant disaster. When a State requests help to the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) Regional Director during a risk of a large disaster, the Fire Management Assistance declaration procedure is initiated. The entire system is completed quickly, and a FEMA decision is issued in a matter of hours.
