SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today secured two Fire Management Assistance Grants (FMAGs) from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to help ensure the availability of vital resources to suppress the LNU Lightning Complex Fire burning in Napa County and the Jones Fire burning in Nevada County.
The FMAGs, which are provided through the President’s Disaster Relief Fund on cost-share basis, will assist local, state and tribal agencies responding to the fires to apply for 75-percent reimbursement of their eligible fire suppression costs.
The LNU Lightning Complex is comprised of two separate fires (Hennessey Fire and Gamble Fire) under a single incident management team. Together, the fires have burned 7,700 acres, causing evacuations and threatening homes near Lake Hennessey and Zinfandel.
In Nevada County, the Jones Fire has burned 550 acres and is causing several evacuations and school closures in the areas west of Nevada City.
The recent sustained high winds have made an ideal environment for dangerous fire conditions throughout the region, and the National Weather Service (NWS) has issued Red Flag Warnings for the area.
In concert with Napa and Nevada County Sheriff’s Offices, CAL FIRE, Cal OES Fire and Rescue, Cal OES Law Enforcement and Cal OES regional personnel are working with the incident response agencies to address all emergency management, law enforcement, evacuation and mutual aid needs for the fire. Current weather conditions are causing extreme fire behavior, even in overnight hours, and the weather pattern is expected to extend through the week.
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