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(EMAILWIRE.COM, October 23, 2007 ) Oakland — The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has authorized the use of federal funds to help California fight the Rice Fire north east of Oceanside San Diego County, The fire was first reported near Fallbrook, today at 4:17 p.m. PDT. Within three hours, the fire had consumed 125 homes. It forced the evacuation of 45,000 residents threatened 1,000 homes, 500 businesses, and a hospital. One hundred and sixty personnel have been deployed to the fire.,"This declaration is the first step towards enabling the state and local governments to apply for financial help," said Nancy Ward, Regional Administrator for FEMA Region IX. “We are committed to getting our firefighters the funds they need to extinguish dangerous fires that threaten lives and property.”The authorization makes FEMA funding available to pay 75 percent of the state’s eligible firefighting costs under an approved grant for managing, mitigating and controlling designated fires. Federal fire management assistance is provided through the President’s Disaster Relief Fund and is made available by FEMA to assist in fighting fires that threaten to cause a major disaster. Eligible state firefighting costs covered by the aid must first meet a minimum threshold for costs before assis-tance is provided. Eligible costs covered by the aid can include expenses for field camps; equipment use, repair and replacement; tools, materials and supplies; and mobilization and demobilization ac-tivities. FEMA coordinates the federal government’s role in preparing for, preventing, mitigating the effects of, responding to, and recovering from all domestic disasters, whether natural or man-made, including acts of terror. ###RIX-NR-07-48 Contact: FEMA Public Affairs (510) 627-7079
Joseph Nchor
info@groupweb.com 
Source: EmailWire.com
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