SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today announced that the state has secured a Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG) from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to help ensure the availability of resources to fight the Hill Fire burning in Riverside County – the fifth such grant California has secured in recent weeks to help suppress fires across the state.
“California is grateful for the continued support for our fire and emergency response teams working around the clock to combat the fires burning across the state, and we remain vigilant in the face of dangerous weather conditions that persist in various regions,” said Governor Newsom.
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.
The Governor has declared a statewide emergency due to the dangerous weather conditions and, earlier today, announced that the state secured an FMAG to bolster the response to the Easy Fire in Ventura County – following FMAGs secured for the response to the Getty Fire in Los Angeles County, 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 American Canyon, Los Angeles, Santa Rosa, Petaluma, Napa 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 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.
Governor Newsom 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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