Federal Funds Authorized To Help Fight Alaska Wildfire
Release Date: July 2, 2001
Release Number: HQ-01-063
Washington, DC -- Federal funds have been made available by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to help fight the Red Fox fire near Tok, Alaska.
According to the agency, federal fire suppression assistance requested by the state last Saturday was approved immediately after it was reported that the blaze had forced the evacuation of approximately 350 people from 150 homes and was endangering another 140 dwellings. The 120-acre fire had destroyed eight structures at the time of the request, including one permanent residence, a vacation home and six outbuildings.
Under the authorization, FEMA will pay 70 percent of the state's eligible firefighting costs that are above $883,000. The figure, called a floor cost, is derived through a formula based on the state's five-year annual average cost for fighting fires.
Federal fire suppression aid is provided through the President's Disaster Relief Fund and made available by FEMA to assist in fighting fires when they threaten to cause a major disaster. Eligible state firefighting costs covered by the aid can include expenses for field camps; equipment use, repair and replacement; tools, materials and supplies; and mobilization and demobilization activities.
Last Modified: Thursday, 16-Oct-2003 09:08:04