Disaster Specific Guidance (DSG) #1A

Appeal Brief Appeal Letter

Appeal Brief

DisasterFEMA-1624-DR
ApplicantAtascosa County, TX
Appeal TypeSecond
PA ID#013-99013-00
PW ID#xxx-xxxxx
Date Signed2006-09-01T04:00:00

Citation:

FEMA-1624-DR-TX, Atascosa County, Texas, DSG #1A

Cross Reference:

Threat of Wildfire Major Disaster Declaration

Summary:

FEMA-1623-DR-TX was declared for the severe weather and fire threat conditions throughout the State of Texas, from December 27, 2005, through
May 14, 2006. In a letter dated April 24, 2006, Atascosa County waived its right to a first appeal and submitted a second appeal for the criteria under #1A for the weeks of February 13, 2006, through April 17, 2006. The County argues that “DSG #1A does not provide the flexibility needed to recognize the specific persistent and adverse weather condition and resulting wildfire danger that exist…”

Issues:

1. Can Atascosa County be exempted from the weekly eligibility criteria under DSG #1A?

Findings:

1. No.

Rationale:

President’s disaster declaration letter dated January 11, 2006,
FEMA-1624-DR-TX DSG #1 and DSG #1A

Appeal Letter

September 1, 2006

Mr. Frank Cantu
State Coordinating Officer
Division of Emergency Management
P.O. Box 4087
Austin, Texas 78773-0220

Re: Second Appeal, PA ID: 013-99013-00, Atascosa County,
Disaster Specific Guidance (DSG) #1A, FEMA-1624-DR-TX

Dear Mr. Cantu:

This letter is in response to the May 17, 2006, memorandum from Duke Mazurek, former State Coordinating Officer, forwarding the above referenced second appeal on behalf of Atascosa County (County) dated April 26, 2006. The County is appealing its denial of reimbursement eligibility for Category B emergency work under DSG #1A, which set forth weekly criteria for reimbursement eligibility under the Public Assistance Program.
FEMA-1623-DR-TX was declared for the severe weather and fire conditions that overwhelmed the State of Texas from December 27, 2005 through May 14, 2006. In its second appeal letter, the County waived its right to a first appeal and appealed the criteria under DSG #1A for the weeks of February 13, 2006 through April 17, 2006.
The County argues that “DSG #1A does not provide the flexibility needed to recognize the specific persistent and adverse weather condition and resulting wildfire danger that exist…” In support of its appeal, the County asserts that the following conditions warrant assistance:

• A Countywide burn ban has been in place since July 13, 2005.
• During the time period under appeal, the County responded to about 105 fires, covering 6,982 acres at an estimated cost of over $57,275.
• The County requested that the State preposition a dozer with operator, engine with crew, and fuel to mitigate the potential fire threat.
• Severe drought conditions have existed across the County as indicated by the National Drought Monitor, Keetch Byran Drought Index, Palmer Drought Severity Index, Standardized Precipitation Index, Crop Moisture Index, and the Vegetation Health Index, as well as extreme temperatures in excess of 10 to 12 degrees above average.
• The County has received over 20 Red Flag warnings.





Mr. Frank Cantu
Page Two

Development of the DSGs stemmed from the disaster declaration letter dated
January 11, 2006, from the President of the United States to Texas Governor Rick Perry. The letter included the following statement, “Designation of specific counties will be made on a weekly basis for the duration of the incident, and those designated for approved reimbursements will be made based on measurable weather and fire conditions that identify areas threatened by an urgent danger from wildfires.” DSG #1 and #1A were developed to establish the policy by which affected counties would demonstrate that they qualify for assistance under this provision of the President’s major disaster declaration.

FEMA’s use of weather and fire threat data at the Predictive Service Area (PSA) level instead of the county level to determine weekly reimbursement eligibility was made after coordinating with the State and the US Forest Service (USFS). Remote Automated Weather Stations (RAWS) which gather much of the data do not exist in every county. To accommodate this limitation, the State and USFS use the PSA as the lowest level of geography, over which RAWS data is interpolated and interpreted to assess fire threat. The area within a PSA shares similar geography and climatology, and reacts similarly to changes in weather. Because Atascosa County does not have its own RAWS, weather and fire threat information is interpolated from RAWS one to five counties away.
FEMA developed DSG #1A after we determined that DSG #1 provided very broad and somewhat redundant criteria which did not accurately identify areas where weather and fire threat conditions could potentially generate fires that would constitute a major disaster. DSG #1A recognized severe fire threat through the Energy Release Component (ERC), actual fire occurrences, as well as incident commanders’ decisions for strategically pre-positioning and deploying fire suppression resources.
The USFS provided technical assistance to FEMA to identify the NFDRS indicator that was the most predictive of weather and fire threat conditions in Texas. Using over 20 years of historical data, the ERC was shown to be the best indicator of fire that may threaten to become a major disaster in Texas.

In addition to a having an ERC in the 90th percentile or higher, the weekly eligibility determination was also based on identifying where the ability to respond to wildfires was beyond local government capabilities, as indicated by where the Incident Commander determined State, out-of-State or Federal fire suppression resources were to be pre-positioned or actually directed to respond to fires. Under both DSGs, the State retained the option to request a Fire Management Assistance declaration for fires that threatened to become a major disaster and did make such requests.






Mr. Frank Cantu
Page Three

We have reviewed the appeal and determined that there are no compelling reasons to revise the evaluation criteria used in DSG #1A.
Please inform the County of my decision. My determination constitutes the final decision on this matter pursuant to 44 CFR § 206.206.

Sincerely,

/ s /

John R. D’Araujo, Jr.
Director of Recovery
Federal Emergency Management Agency

cc: William Peterson
Regional Director
FEMA Region VI

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