California secures federal assistance to support response to Hawarden Fire

SACRAMENTO – Working quickly to bring in additional funding and resources to help fight the rapidly burning Hawarden Fire, Governor Gavin Newsom today announced that California has secured a Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG) from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to help ensure the availability of vital resources to suppress the fire burning in Riverside County.

The fast-moving Hawarden Fire ignited earlier today near the city of Riverside and has burned more than 492 acres, forcing evacuations of more than 2,500 people and is threatening homes.

The FMAG, which is provided through the President’s Disaster Relief Fund on cost-share basis, will assist local, state and tribal agencies responding to the fire to apply for 75-percent reimbursement of their eligible fire suppression costs. The program, which is administered through the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES), provides rapid financial assistance to communities impacted by fires.

Recently, California secured FMAGs for the Thompson and French fires that burned nearly 4,000 acres in early July. These earlier actions by Governor Newsom provided critical resources to respond to these two fires, protecting communities in Butte and Mariposa counties.