FEMA Authorizes Funds to Fight Gwen Fire in Idaho

BOTHELL, Wash. –  The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) authorized the use of federal funds to help with firefighting costs for the Gwen Fire burning in the Nez Perce Reservation and in Nez Perce and Latah counties, Idaho. 

The state of Idaho’s request for a federal Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG) was approved by FEMA Region 10 Administrator Willie G. Nunn on Friday, July 26, 2024, at 12:23 a.m. PT. He determined that the Gwen Fire threatened to cause such destruction as would constitute a major disaster. This is the second FMAG declared in 2024 to help fight Idaho wildfires. 

At the time of the state’s request, the wildfire threatened homes in and around the communities of Juliaetta, Myrtle, Arrow Junction and Lenore and the city of Lapwai. The fire also threatened private and nonprofit public utilities and critical community infrastructure such as roads, bridges, public businesses and recreational areas. 

FMAGs 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. This authorization makes FEMA funding available to pay 75 percent of 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. 

In addition to the firefighting funds authorized under this FMAG, another $985,111 will be available to Idaho through the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) Post Fire for the mitigation of future wildfires 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. The Disaster Recovery Reform Act of 2018 authorizes FEMA to provide HMGP Post-Fire funds to eligible states and territories that receive Fire Management Assistance declarations and federally recognized tribes that have land burned within a designated area.  

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