Washington state officials hope to apply for more FEMA support in wake of Gray, Oregon fires

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has approved the distribution of fire management assistance grants for both the Gray and Oregon Road fires.

Three days after the fires erupted Friday afternoon in Spokane County , mandatory evacuation orders remained in place for fire areas, including Medical Lake and a large zone east and southeast of Elk. The fires have blackened 20,000 acres and razed at least 200 structures, with two people found dead within the fires’ boundaries, officials say.

President Joe Biden reportedly called Washington Gov. Jay Inslee on Monday morning about the Gray and Oregon Road fires, according to a written statement the governor made online.

“I appreciated President Biden’s call this morning to share his concern for the devastating Spokane County wildfires and what can be done to secure federal aid,” he wrote.

On Sunday night, Inslee also reportedly spoke with FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell, who assured him the federal agency would work with Washington to assess damages as quickly as possible to see what federal aid the state may qualify for.

Fire management assistance grants are available to states and tribal governments for the management of fires on public or private lands that threaten destruction resulting in a “major disaster,” as defined by FEMA. The grants are provided to fight the fire, not provide recovery support, said Washington Military Department spokesperson Karina Shagren.

“It’s a tremendous help from the federal government,” Shagren said. “But you never want to be in a scenario where you want an FMAG declared – I mean, that’s a pretty bad fire.”

FEMA has sent a total of seven fire management assistance grants to Washington state since July, including those sent for the Gray and Oregon Road fires late last week. The Tunnel Five fire in Skamania County, the McEwan fire in Mason County, the Baird Springs fire in Grant County, the Newell Road fire in Klickitat County and the Eagle Bluff fire in Okanogan County also received FEMA grants.

Spokane County officials and state legislators will likely apply for at least one other type of FEMA aid to help recovery efforts in the Gray and Oregon Road fires, Shagren said. If FEMA makes a major disaster declaration for either fire, officials will be able to apply for additional recovery aid for that fire.

This could take time. The Spokane County fires continue to burn, making them unsafe for crews to assess the extent of the wreckage.

“The first step in pursuing a major disaster declaration is understanding what damage occurred,” Shagren said. “It’s going to be a while.”

Four National Guard helicopters flew to help fight the fires on Monday afternoon.

“We’re monitoring resource requests and working with locals on the ground,” Shagren said. “We’re hoping to get into the affected areas soon to conduct those damage assessments.”