Guard activated to fight wildfires, FEMA grants approved
A UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter from the Washington Army National Guard was mobilized on July 24 to support Washington State Department of Natural Resources fire crews with dropping water on multiple fires in Eastern Washington.
Gov. Jay Inslee officially activated the Guard to support wildland firefighting efforts, as requested by DNR. The Washington Emergency Management Division helped coordinate the efforts and the state Emergency Operations Center continues to monitor the situation.
Meantime, the public assistance team at the Washington Emergency Management Division helped secure three Fire Management Assistance Grants from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
The key to getting these grants is that the wildfire must have started but structures must not yet be on fire. On Friday, federal funds were made available to help with firefighting costs for the Retreat Fire burning in Yakima County, Washington.
Earlier this week, federal funds were made available to help with firefighting costs for the Swawilla Fire burning in on the lands of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation and in Ferry and Okanogan counties as well as the West White Swan Fire burning within Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation tribal land and in Yakima County. In June, FEMA approved an FMAG grant to help with firefighting costs for the Slide Ranch Fire, also burning on Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation tribal land and in Yakima County.
This authorization makes FEMA funding available to pay 75 percent of eligible firefighting suppression costs under an approved grant for managing, mitigating, and controlling designated fires.
This marks the 10th year since 2012 that members of the Washington National Guard have activated to support wildland firefighting response efforts in Washington.
The request for help came from the state forester at Washington Department of Natural Resources. No requests for ground resources were made at this time, although Guard members have been training in case that becomes necessary,
The helicopter and crew come from 1st Battalion, 168th General Support Aviation, located at Joint Base Lewis-McChord. As of Friday morning, the helicopter had dropped more than 50 buckets of water.
“Our National Guard members train for this mission every year and the chance to support our neighbors here in Washington during natural disasters is a staple of what makes the Guard so important,” said Major General Gent Welsh, the adjutant general. “Being prepared to activate is critical and our aviation crews are always ready to support.”
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