Governor Gianforte Secures Support from FEMA to Fight Horse Gulch Fire

Governor Gianforte Secures Support from FEMA to Fight Horse Gulch Fire

• July 13 2024

HELENA, Mont. - Governor Greg Gianforte today announced the State of Montana has secured a Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG) from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to assist with costs associated with fighting the Horse Gulch Fire burning in Lewis & Clark and Broadwater counties.

"We're asking all Montanans to take seriously the evacuation warnings and orders from local law enforcement and follow all necessary precautions," Gov. Gianforte said. "The State of Montana has been in constant contact with the U.S. Forest Service since the Horse Gulch Fire ignited on federal land and we continue to provide resources to them as they lead the response. I've requested an on-site briefing from incident command in the coming days."

Montana's Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC) submitted the request for financial firefighting assistance in coordination with Disaster and Emergency Services (DES). FEMA approved the request.

The FMAG makes FEMA funding available to pay 75 percent of the state's eligible firefighting costs. Eligible costs include materials and supplies, mobilization and demobilization, equipment use, aviation use for firefighting and expenses for field camps. These grants do not provide assistance for individual home or business owners and do not cover other infrastructure damage caused by the fire.

Additionally, each FMAG generates over $950,000 in federal mitigation funding to reduce the risk of future life and property loss from future disasters. Montana DES manages this funding.

The Horse Gulch Fire is impacting the community of York, Montana, with nearly 500 homes and more than 400 people at risk. The fire started Tuesday, July 9, 2024, and to date has burned more than 11,607 acres and is zero percent contained.

Today, the fire management transitioned from a Northern Rockies Type 3 Incident Management Team to a Northern Rockies Complex Incident Management Team.

For more information on the Horse Gulch Fire, including daily updates, visit the InciWeb site here.

For current fire information across Montana, including tips on preparedness, fire prevention and restrictions visit mtfireinfo.org.

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