DENVER –The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has authorized the use of federal funds to help with firefighting costs for the Dollar Ridge Fire in Wasatch and Duchesne Counties in Utah.
FEMA Regional VIII Acting Administrator Nancy Dragani approved the state’s request for a federal Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG) after receiving the state’s request Monday afternoon.
At the time of the request, over 100 homes were immediately threatened. The fire was also threatening infrastructure, including gas and oil wells and the Strawberry River Watershed. Both voluntary and mandatory evacuations have occurred for approximately 200-300 people. More than 30,000 acres had burned and no part of the fire had been contained. The fire started on Sunday, July 1, 2018 and is burning on state and private lands.
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.
Fire Management Assistance Grants are provided through the President's Disaster Relief Fund and 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.