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 Lake Christine Fire in Eagle County, Colorado.
FEMA Regional VIII Acting Administrator Nancy Dragani approved the state’s request for a federal Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG) after receiving the state’s request Wednesday evening.
At the time of the request, the fire was threatening 500 homes in and around Basalt, CO. Mandatory evacuations were taking place for approximately 219 households with an additional 154 homes on pre-evacuation orders. The fire was also threatening infrastructure including a large power grid, utilities, equipment and a primary water source in the area. More than 2,373 acres had burned and no part of the fire had been contained. The fire started on Tuesday, July 3, 2018 and is burning on private, state, and federal lands.
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.