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 Hilltop Fire in Sanpete County, Utah, southeast of Indianola.
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 Monday evening.
At the time of the request, the fire was threatening 500 people in and around Indianola, Blackhawk Estates, and Millburn, Utah, approximate population 1,300. Mandatory evacuations are taking place for approximately 350 people. The fire is also threatening critical infrastructure, utilities, equipment, and the Millburn and Indianola watersheds. The fire started on August 6, 2018 and has burned in excess of 500 acres of private and state land. The fire is zero-percent 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.