FEMA Wildfires Declaration Now Includes 119 Texas Counties
AUSTIN (AP) - The Federal Emergency Management Agency has expanded its wildfires disaster declaration area for Texas to include 119 counties.
Governor Rick Perry on Wednesday announced FEMA has granted the state's request to increase the original 45 counties eligible to seek disaster help.
A FEMA disaster declaration, on July 1, covered Texas wildfires between April 2 and May 3. Perry's office says the updated disaster declaration extends the wildfires incident period through Aug. 29.
Texas, since Perry's initial statewide disaster proclamation last Dec. 21, has responded to more than 26,000 fires that have burned more than 3.9 million acres. The governor's office says state and local response costs are estimated at more than $330 million.
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