WASHINGTON – Rural wildfire victims could get federal assistance faster under a bill introduced in Washington D.C. on Tuesday.
The Making Aid for Local Disasters Equal Now (MALDEN) Act would improve coordination between local, state, tribal and federal agencies. Under this act, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) would be required to better coordinate with local wildfire recovery teams, ensuring resources are delivered quicker after a disastrous wildfire.
The bill is named after the town of Malden, which was destroyed by the Babb Road Fire in 2020. Over 60 homes and all of the city’s infrastructure were burnt to the ground.
Then, in 2023, the Gray and Oregon Road Fires swept through the town of Medical Lake and Elk in eastern Washington, burning over 20,000 acres and destroying around 300 homes between the two fires.
“After the 2020 fire that destroyed the town of Malden — and even after last year’s Gray and Oregon Road fires in Spokane County — federal assistance has been too slow to arrive. The MALDEN Act will help deliver disaster recovery aid to rural communities more quickly. The bill requires FEMA to get involved in rural wildfire response sooner, work with local, state, and Tribal emergency officials on a coordinated response, and to make case workers available even if victims are denied federal assistance,” said Sen. Cantwell.
This bill is a companion bill of the Malden Act introduced by House Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers last November.
The MALDEN Act would amend the Stafford Act which was signed into law in Nov. 1988.
“When our rural communities need help with wildfires, they need it fast. Thus far, federal agencies have failed them. The MALDEN Act will require the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to urgently respond to areas in need while coordinating with state, tribal, and local leaders, who know their communities’ needs best. We must pass the MALDEN Act before the 2024 wildfire season starts,” said Senator James Risch.
