It was around this same time last year when the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) first started talking about its new Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) Post Fire funding assistance. As you may recall, it was offered as an expedited and flexible means for communities to recover and protect themselves from wildfires or other natural disasters. Given the number of fires reported in 2018 (58,083 according to the National Interagency Fire Center), the assistance couldn’t have come at a better time. Now, FEMA has apparently upped its game by making these funds available absent a major disaster declaration. (Typically, HMGP funding is only available following Presidential major disaster declarations.)
The new post fire program is part of the Agency’s implementation of the Disaster Recovery Reform Act (DRRA) of 2018. Section 1204 of the DRRA amended Sections 404 and Section 420 of the Stafford Act, and allows FEMA to provide HMGP Post Fire assistance to any area that received a Fire Management Assistance grant (FMAG) declaration under Section 420 on or after October 5, 2018. Among the latest to receive an FMAG declaration is the State o