SUBLETTE COUNTY, WYO – The US Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has authorized the use of federal funds to help with firefighting costs for the Roosevelt Fire in Sublette County. FEMA Regional Administrator Lee K. dePalo approved the state’s request for a federal Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG) after receiving the state’s request earlier this week.
At the time of the request, the fire had forced hundreds of mandatory evacuations and is also threatening the Hoback Watershed which supports the local community. The fire started on September 15, 2018 and has burned nearly 30,000 acres of private and federal land. The fire is 0% contained.
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.
