Crime & Safety

Feds Approve Grant to Cover Costs of Fighting Falls Fire

Up to 75 percent of firefighting costs are now eligible for reimbursement through FEMA.

The federal government will be covering some of the expense of fighting the Falls Fire in Lake Elsinore, it was announced today.

According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, a request submitted by the state Monday for federal aid was approved, meaning up to 75 percent of firefighting costs are eligible for reimbursement through FEMA.

[RELATED: For all the latest on acreage, containment and evacuations related to the Falls Fire, be sure to keep checking our main news story here.]

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The agency cited threats to more than 1,000 homes in the communities of Lakeland Village and Rancho Capistrano as reasons for the prompt decision to make Disaster Relief grant funding available.

A quarter of the wildfire has since been contained, and those communities are no longer under mandatory evacuation. However, the Ortega Highway connecting Riverside and Orange counties remains closed, and more than 1,000 fire personnel are continuing to attempt to encircle the 1,400-acre blaze.

Find out what's happening in Temeculawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

– City News Service.


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