SACRAMENTO–Governor Gavin Newsom has secured Fire Management Assistance Grants from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to help ensure the availability of resources to fight the 46 Fire in Riverside County and the Hillside Fire burning in San Bernardino County.
“California and its federal, local and community partners are working in lockstep to meet the extraordinary challenges of the past two weeks,” said Governor Newsom. “The collaborative spirit on display throughout the state truly demonstrates what it means to be a good neighbor.”
The Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG) will assist local, state and tribal agencies responding to the fire to apply for 75-percent reimbursement of their eligible fire suppression costs.
The governor has declared a statewide emergency due to the dangerous weather conditions and secured FMAGs to bolster the response to the Hill Fire, Easy Fire, Getty Fire, and the Kincade and Tick fires – for which he previously declared a state of emergency in Sonoma and Los Angeles counties.
Newsom has also announced appointments to the California Wildfire Safety Advisory Board, California Catastrophe Response Council, and the Wildfire Safety Division at the California Public Utilities Commission, as outlined in wildfire safety and accountability legislation he signed in July.
He has called on the California Public Utilities Commission to reform power shutoff rules and regulations as part of its investigation into the utility-led shutoffs. He has also announced a $75 million program for state and local governments to mitigate the impacts of power shutoffs and unveiled a series of new partnerships and new tools to help secure medically vulnerable populations during these events.