FEMA Authorizes Funds to Fight Himalaya Road Fire in Alaska

BOTHELL, Wash. –  The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) authorized the use of federal funds to help with firefighting costs for the Himalaya Road Fire burning in the Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska. 

The state of Alaska’s request for a declaration under FEMA’s Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG) program was approved by FEMA Region 10 Deputy Acting Administrator Anthony J. Morea on Monday, June 23, 2025, at 8:19 p.m. PT. He determined that the Himalaya Road Fire threatened to cause such destruction as would constitute a major disaster. This is the second FMAG declaration in 2025 to help fight Alaska wildfires. 

At the time of the state’s request, the wildfire threatened homes in and around the communities of Himalaya, Haystack, Hayes Creek, and Fox. The fire also threatened powerlines, cell towers, watersheds, fishing streams, spawning sites, wildlife, cultural resources, and part of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline. 

FMAGs make funding available to pay up to 75 percent of a state’s eligible firefighting costs for fires that threaten to become major disasters. Eligible items can include expenses for field camps, equipment use, materials, supplies and mobilization and demobilization activities attributed to fighting the fire. These grants do not provide assistance to individual home or business owners and do not cover other infrastructure damage caused by the fire.