SACRAMENTO – 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 Alisal Fire in Santa Barbara County.
To date, the Alisal Fire has burned 14,500 acres in and around Goleta and is 5 percent contained. Highway 101 has been partially closed and the fire is threatening structures and historic landmarks. The National Weather Service issued a wind advisory for the area with potential for extreme Sundowner Winds.
The FMAG, which is provided through the President’s Disaster Relief Fund on a cost-share basis, will enable 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 Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES), provides rapid financial assistance to communities impacted by fires.
Last month, the White House approved a Presidential Major Disaster Declaration and Presidential Emergency Declaration to support the Caldor Fire response, and previously approved a Presidential Major Disaster Declaration to support counties impacted by the Dixie and River fires. The state previously secured FMAGs to support the response to the Dixie Fire in Lassen, Butte and Plumas counties and the response to the French Fire, Caldor Fire, Monument Fire, River Fire and Lava Fire.
Governor Newsom has proclaimed a state of emergency in counties impacted by the Cache Fire, Caldor Fire, McFarland and Monument fires, Antelope and River fires, Dixie, Fly and Tamarack fires and the Lava Fire and Beckwourth Complex Fire. The Governor has also signed executive orders to support impacted communities and bolster wildfire response and recovery efforts. CAL FIRE and Cal OES personnel are responding in concert with other federal, state and local agencies to address emergency management and mutual aid needs for the fires.