Wildfire

Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees, and Farm-Raised Fish Program

The Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees, and Farm-Raised Fish Program (ELAP) provides emergency assistance to eligible producers of livestock, honeybees and farm-raised fish. It covers losses due to an eligible adverse weather or loss conditions as well as expenses associated with transportation of water and feed to livestock. ELAP is not eligible on federally managed lands.

Tree Assistance Program

The Tree Assistance Program provides cost-share assistance to replant or rehabilitate trees, bushes or vines lost during the natural disaster.

This program provides assistance for trees, bushes or vines not covered by the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program or crop insurance.

Livestock Forage Disaster Program

The Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP) provides benefits for grazing losses due to wildfire.

LFP benefits may also be available for loss of grazing acres due to wildfires on federally managed lands on which a producer is prohibited, by a federal agency, from grazing normally permitted livestock.

Emergency Livestock Relief Program

Livestock producers who have approved applications through the 2021 Livestock Forage Disaster Program for forage losses due to severe drought or wildfire will soon begin receiving emergency relief payments to compensate for increases in supplemental feed costs through the Farm Service Agency’s Emergency Livestock Relief Program (ELRP).

Emergency Conservation Program and Emergency Forest Restoration Program

The Emergency Conservation Program and Emergency Forest Restoration Program provide financial and technical assistance to restore conservation practices like fencing, damaged farmland or forests.

Emergency Watershed Program

The Emergency Watershed Protection Program– with recovery and floodplain easement options – provides personalized advice and financial assistance to relieve imminent threats to life and property caused by floods, fires, windstorms, and other natural disasters that impair a watershed.

EWP Recovery addresses erosion related watershed impairments by supporting activities such as removing debris from stream channels, road culverts, and bridges; reshaping and protecting eroded banks; correcting damaged drainage facilities; repairing levees and structures; and reseeding damaged areas.

EWP Floodplain Easement offers an alternative method to the traditional EWP Program Recovery. NRCS recommends this option to landowners and others where acquiring an easement is the best approach (more economical and prudent) to reduce threat to life and/or property.

Emergency Relief Program

The Emergency Relief Program (ERP) Phase Two assists producers who suffered a loss in revenue from eligible natural disasters in 2020 and 2021.

Assessing Fire Damage

• Are there fire damaged trees within one tree height of your home, other structures or access roads? If so, refer to the Forest Service publication: Postfire Assessment of Tree Status. If cutting/removing hazardous trees, leave stumps in place as the tree roots will continue to hold the soil for several years while they decompose. This is especially important near streams and rivers.

• After a fire, the risk of flash floods, debris and mud flows is much greater. Consider the following to evaluate your flooding risks:

Questions to Address

• Are there National Weather Service rain gauges in your watershed? If so, is there an emergency alert system associated with them?
• Contact your insurance agent or FEMA about The National Flood Insurance Program even if you are out of the 100-year flood plain.
• Remove debris in and near culverts and cross drains. This includes rocks, decking, structures, vegetation, fences across draws, etc.
• When walking your property, look for items that may potentially plug stream channels and/or culverts, particularly at road crossings.