The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) approved Alaska's request for a Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG) late Wednesday, giving the state reimbursement for about 75 percent of firefighting costs for the Deshka Landing Fire.
FMAGs have already been authorized for the Shovel Creek Fire that burned near Fairbanks, and the McKinley Fire, which is burning north of the Deshka Landing Fire.
The request was approved at 9:06 p.m. on Wednesday by FEMA Region 10 Administrator Mike O'Hare after a request from the state on Tuesday.
The reimbursement includes "expenses for field camps; equipment use, repair and replacement; mobilization and demobilization activities; and tools, materials and supplies." FMAGs are issued in areas where there are high numbers of residential or business structures threatened, and are issued at the time a "threat of major disaster" exists.
Because of the emergency nature of the declarations, the decisions about whether to issue FMAGs can be issued in a matter of hours.