State AGs Call for FEMA to Classify Extreme Heat, Smoke as ‘Major Disasters’

Attorneys general from 13 states and Washington, D.C. are calling on the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to classify extreme heat and wildfire smoke as major disasters, which would unlock federal resources to help local governments prepare and respond. 

“Neither an extreme heat event nor a wildfire smoke event has ever been recognized by FEMA as a major disaster eligible for federal aid,” explains Ysabelle Kempe in Smart Cities Dive. The group is requesting a change to the Stafford Act, a 1988 law that guides federal emergency response and which explicitly names other weather-related disasters like hurricanes and earthquakes. 

While FEMA administrator Deanne Criswell told Congress that the agency considers requests based on local governments’ capacity, “The attorneys general say that explicitly adding heat and smoke into the Stafford Act will provide more certainty to state and local emergency management agencies. That would allow those agencies to make more informed decisions about how to prioritize their emergency management investments.”