BOTHELL, Wash. – The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) authorized the use of federal funds to help with firefighting costs for the Signal Peak Fire and Ransier Fire burning in Yakima County and the Yakama Nation Reservation, Washington.
The state of Washington’s request for a federal Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG) for the Signal Peak Fire was approved by FEMA Region 10 Acting Regional Administrator Vincent J. Maykovich on Saturday, July 25, 2026 at 10:24 p.m. PT. The state’s request for the Ransier Fire was approved on Sunday, July 26, 2026, at 8:14 p.m. PT. He determined that the Signal Peak and Ransier Fires threatened to cause such destruction as would constitute a major disaster. These are the third and fourth FMAG declarations in 2026 to help fight Washington wildfires.
At the time of the state’s requests, the fires threatened homes in and around the community of White Swan. The fires also threatened tribally owned powerlines, cultural land, timber and tribal, government and community buildings. Additionally, the Signal Peak Fire threatened a privately owned railroad, county highways and a raw water canal. The Ransier Fire threatened businesses, an airstrip, medical offices, fire stations and White Swan High School.
FMAGs make funding available to pay up to 75 percent of a state’s eligible firefighting costs for fires that threaten to become major disasters. Eligible items can include expenses for field camps, equipment use, materials, supplies and mobilization and demobilization activities attributed to fighting the fire. These grants do not provide assistance to individual home or business owners and do not cover other infrastructure damage caused by the fire.
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