FEMA authorized the use of federal funds to help with firefighting costs for the Auburn Fire burning in Pennington county, on the north side of Rapid City.
FEMA Acting Regional Administrator Tammy Littrell approved the state’s request for a federal Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG) after receiving the request late this afternoon and determining that the fire threatened such destruction that it would constitute a major disaster.
Fire threat
At the time of the request, the Auburn Fire was threatening 500 homes and approximately 1,000 people were under mandatory evacuations. The fire started today and has burned more than 250 acres.
Approved Grant
The authorization makes FEMA funding available to pay 75 percent of the state’s eligible firefighting costs under an approved grant for managing, mitigating, and controlling designated fires. These grants do not provide assistance to individual home or business owners and do not cover other infrastructure damage caused by the fire.
FMAG are provided through the President's Disaster Relief Fund and are made available by FEMA
Fire Management Assistance Grants are provided through the President's Disaster Relief Fund and are 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.
Additional funding
With the FMAG authorization, additional funding is made available through the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) Post Fire for the mitigation of wildfire and related hazards, such as flood after fire or erosion.
Some eligible project types include defensible space measures, ignition-resistant construction, and hazardous fuels reduction.
