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 Gun Range Fire in Davis County, Utah.
FEMA Regional Administrator Lee K. dePalo approved the state’s request for a federal Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG) after receiving the request earlier today and determining that the Gun Range Fire threatened such destruction as would constitute a major disaster.
The fire started early this morning. At the time of the request, the fire was burning approximately 300 acres in the hills near Bountiful and Centerville, Utah and was zero-percent contained. The fire has claimed 4 homes, more than 1000 homes are threatened, and mandatory evacuations have been ordered for 400 homes.
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 are 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.