FEMA AUTHORIZES FUNDS TO FIGHT COLORADO’S CALWOOD FIRE
[https://www.fema.gov/press-release/20210318/fema-authorizes-funds-fight-colorados-calwood-fire]


Release Date: 
October 18, 2020 

DENVER – This afternoon, FEMA authorized the use of federal funds to
help with firefighting costs for the Calwood Fire burning in Boulder
County near the Town of Jamestown.

FEMA Regional Administrator Lee dePalo approved the state’s request
for a federal Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG) after receiving
the request and determining that the fire threatened such destruction
as would constitute a major disaster.

At the time of the request, the Calwood Fire was threatening 500
homes. Mandatory evacuations are in place for approximately 1,000
people. The fire also is threatening 750 other buildings, US Hwy 36,
public utility distribution, powerlines, and Lefthand Canyon watershed
in the area. The fire started on October 17, 2020, and has burned in
excess of 3,000 acres of federal and private land.

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.

With the FMAG authorization, additional funding is made available
through the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) Post Fire for the
mitigation of wildfire and related hazards, such as flood after fire
or erosion. Some eligible wildfire project types include defensible
space measures, ignition-resistant construction, and hazardous fuels
reduction.

For more information on FMAGs, visit 
https://www.fema.gov/fire-management-assistance-grants-program-details.
For HMGP Post Fire, visit
https://www.fema.gov/hazard-mitigation-grant-program-post-fire.