California Secures Federal Assistance to Support Easy Fire Response 

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SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today announced that the state has secured a Fire Management Assistance Grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to help ensure the availability of resources to fight the Easy Fire burning in Ventura County.

“The continued real-time assistance provided as California grapples with fires across the state has been critical to our efforts to keep communities safe and reduce damages,” said Governor Newsom. “We are thankful to our federal, state and local partners for their extraordinary, collaborative response in this challenging time.”

The Fire Management Assistance Grant will assist local, state and tribal agencies responding to the fire to apply for 75-percent reimbursement of their eligible fire suppression costs.

Governor Newsom has declared a statewide emergency due to the dangerous weather conditions and secured Fire Management Assistance Grants to bolster the response to the Getty Fire, as well as the Kincade and Tick fires – for which he previously declared a state of emergency in Sonoma and Los Angeles counties.

The Governor this week launched a new resource site, RESPONSE.CA.GOV, which serves as a one-stop portal for resources available to Californians impacted by wildfires and power shutoffs, and highlighted community and business partnerships supporting impacted residents across the state.

This week and last week, the Governor met with emergency responders, volunteers, health officials, residents and state and local leaders in LosAngeles, Santa RosaPetalumaNapa and Geyserville, and held briefings regarding the ongoing fire threats and the need to hold utilities accountable for the consequences of their power shutoff decisions.

The Governor 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.

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