U.S. SENATE — U.S. Senator Steve Daines today announced that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has authorized federal funds to help the State of Montana with the firefighting costs for the Robertson Draw Fire that is currently burning in Carbon County.
“I’m glad to see Montana receive the help it needs to ensure our firefighters and first responders are able to fight this growing fire,” Daines said. “I will continue to monitor the situation and work with local officials to protect our communities and secure critical resources to help contain the Robertson Draw Fire.”
Montana requested a federal Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG) declaration yesterday and it was approved early this morning.
At the time of the request, the Robertson Draw Fire was threatening 450 homes, which were under an evacuation order, as well as 312 buildings, utilities, equipment, and other infrastructure in the area. The fire started on June 13 and has burned more than 10,000 acres.
This funding will reimburse up to 75 percent of Montana’s eligible firefighting costs under an approved grant for managing, mitigating and controlling designated fires.
FEMA’s Fire Management Assistance Grants 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.
Additional funding is also made available through the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) post-fire with the FMAG authorization. These funds can go towards fire mitigation projects and under Senator Daines’ bipartisan bill, the Emergency Wildfire and Public Safety Act, counties and other entities could use these funds to underground or install fire-resistant wires to prevent future fires.
For more information on the funding, click HERE.
###
Contact: Katherine McKeogh, Katie Schoettler