Another brutal summer is shattering temperature records, broiling over a third of Americans under extended heat advisories. As smoke from wildfires begins to choke skies and death counts tick upwards, affected states say they need more help from the federal government.
During most climate-driven emergencies, such as hurricanes or floods, local governments can rely on the Federal Emergency Management Agency to fund relief efforts. But heat waves and wildfire smoke aren’t explicitly listed as “major disasters” under the law that empowers FEMA to administer emergency aid and don’t fit neatly within the disaster-declaration process — leaving affected communities without a clear pathway to access funds. Recently, in response, states and advocacy groups have been pressuring FEMA to treat heat waves and wildfire smoke as the major disasters they are.
Part of the problem comes down to semantics, and how climate-impacted events are addressed — or, more precisely, not addressed — in a 1988 law called the Stafford Act, which authorizes FEMA to administer a ... Read more
