Wildfire Recovery Act

The Wildfire Recovery Act would modify how the federal government provides financial assistance to states and local communities dealing with wildfires. Currently, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) covers 75% of eligible fire management costs under its Fire Management Assistance Grant program. This bill would establish that 75% as a minimum and allow the federal government to cover a higher percentage in certain circumstances, particularly when fire response costs are especially high for state or local governments.

The bill also addresses how FEMA reimburses communities for preparing firefighting resources before a fire is declared. Under current rules, states and local governments cannot be reimbursed for pre-positioning their own firefighting equipment within their state, even though the federal government allows this for other types of disaster response. The bill would change this policy to allow state, local, and tribal governments to receive reimbursement for deploying firefighting resources in advance of fires, consistent with how other federal disaster assistance programs operate.