State of Florida Requests Additional Fire Management Assistance Grant for Northwest Florida Fires
Today, the Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM) requested an additional Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG) from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in response to the Northwest Florida fires in Bay, Gulf and Calhoun counties.
At the time of the request, the Bertha Swamp Fire, the Dogwood Way Fire and the Adkins Avenue Fire were burning across more than 9,400 acres in Bay, Gulf and Calhoun counties. Together, these fires formed the Chipola Fire Complex. In response, Governor Ron DeSantis issued Executive Order 22-55, which amended Executive Order 22-54, to expand the State of Emergency to include Calhoun and Gulf counties.
Yesterday, FDEM requested and received an FMAG for the Adkins Avenue Fire. If granted, this additional FMAG request would cover costs associated with the Chipola Fire Complex, which includes the Bertha Swamp Fire and the Dogwood Way Fire, in addition to the Adkins Avenue Fire.
Fire Management Assistance, under FEMA, is available to states, local and tribal governments, for the mitigation, management, and control of fires on publicly or privately owned forests or grasslands, which threaten such destruction as would constitute a major disaster. More information is on FMAG is available here.
FDEM continues to coordinate available resources to support local responding agencies. Resources on standby includes a drone assessment team, a mobile command vehicle and air operations support from the Florida National Guard. The Florida National Guard stands ready to assist, if necessary.
Additionally, FDEM coordinated the deployment of four firefighting engine strike teams. Firefighting engine strike teams focus on the protection of infrastructure during a fire response.
Updated: Sunday, March 6, 2022
