California secures federal assistance to support response to Park Fire

SACRAMENTO – Working quickly to bring in additional funding and resources to help fight the rapidly burning Park Fire, Governor Gavin Newsom today announced that California last night secured a Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG) from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to help ensure the availability of vital resources to suppress the fire burning in Butte County.

The fast-moving Park Fire near the city of Chico has burned more than 45,000 acres, forcing evacuations of more than 3,500 people. Real-time information, including road closures, evacuation maps and centers, is available at fire.ca.gov.

The FMAG, which is provided through the President’s Disaster Relief Fund on cost-share basis, will assist local, state and tribal agencies responding to the fire to apply for 75-percent reimbursement of their eligible fire suppression costs. The program, which is administered through the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES), provides rapid financial assistance to communities impacted by fires.

Already this wildfire season, California has secured FMAGs for the Thompson, French and Hawarden fires that burned nearly 5,000 acres.