FEMA Authorizes Funds to Fight Swawilla Fire in Washington

BOTHELL, Wash. –  The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) authorized the use of federal funds to help with firefighting costs for the Swawilla Fire burning in on the lands of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation and in Ferry and Okanogan counties, Washington. 

The state of Washington’s request for a federal Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG) was approved by FEMA Region 10 Administrator Willie G. Nunn on Wednesday, July 24, 2024, at 6:07 p.m. PT. He determined that the Swawilla Fire threatened to cause such destruction as would constitute a major disaster. This is the third FMAG declared in 2024 to help fight Washington wildfires. 

At the time of the state’s request, the wildfire threatened homes in and around the communities of Keller, Koontsville and Seatons Grove. The fire also threatened the tribal Department of Transportation, cultural and community resources, an Indian Health Service clinic, Mt Tolman firefighting facilities and infrastructure, parks and recreation complexes, rangeland, timber and farmlands, hunting areas, powerlines, the Spirit Ridge Offices of Fish and Wildlife and a tribal cemetery in the area. 

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 $1,313,482 will be available to Washington 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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