FEMA has authorised the use of federal funds to help with firefighting costs for the Marshall Fire burning in Boulder County.

FEMA Acting Regional Administrator Tammy Littrell approved the state’s request for a federal Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG) after receiving the request and determining that the fire threatened such destruction that it would constitute a major disaster.

At the time of the request, the Marshall Fire had destroyed more than 100 homes and was threatening more than 5,000 homes, which were under an evacuation order.

The authorisation 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. While the FMAG does not provide assistance to individual home or business owners and does not cover other infrastructure damage caused by the fire, additional federal assistance may be available upon request after damage assessments.   

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; mobilisation and demobilisation activities; and tools, materials and supplies.

With the FMAG authorisation, 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 wildfire project types include defensible space measures, ignition-resistant construction, and hazardous fuels reduction.

For more information on FMAGs, visit  https://www.fema.gov/fire-management-assistance-grants-program-details. For HMGP Post Fire, visit https://www.fema.gov/hazard-mitigation-grant-program-post-fire.