Central Coast congressional representatives are pushing the Federal Emergency Management Agency to reconsider its denial of more than $1.5 million in reimbursements for damage caused by the 2020 Carmel Fire. 

U.S. Reps. Jimmey Panetta, D-Monterey, and Zoe Lofgren, D-Santa Clara, sent a letter to FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell on Friday appealing the agency’s decision to deny Monterey County’s claim for reimbursement because of what FEMA said were violations of the federal Endangered Species Act. 

The work involved replacing guardrails and culverts on Cachagua Road that had been warped and damaged by the fire. 

“We believe this determination fails to take into consideration the exigent circumstances under which repairs were made and the lack of impact on any species following the fires’ destruction,” the letter said.  

The Carmel Fire broke out Aug. 18, 2020 in Sky Ranch, near Cachagua, in Carmel Valley. It burned over 6,900 acres, destroyed 73 structures and damaged seven more, before being contained after 19 days. 

Fundamentally, in executing these repairs in a judicious manner, the County worked under exigent circumstances to save life and property. These actions proved prescient, given the storms that struck the area shortly after the fires. Without quick County action, the damages from the storms would have been far worse, closing roads and cutting off access to communities, and likely resulting in even larger FEMA reimbursement claims. Central coast congressional representatives

FEMA did award Fire Management Assistance Grants to help fight the fire, but the funds were designated only for firefighting, not repairs. 

The agency issued a major disaster declaration because of the fire and two others that burned in the area around the same time, the River and Dolan Fires. 

The congressional letter pointed out that the repair work was done in burned-out areas that were likely uninhabitable by animals after the fire, there was no visible habitat for endangered species, and the work met environmental conditions to be exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act, or CEQA. 

It also said that the repairs to the road had been critical during intense rainfall in January and March this year, when atmospheric rainstorms flooded many county roads. 

“Fundamentally, in executing these repairs in a judicious manner, the County worked under exigent circumstances to save life and property. These actions proved prescient, given the storms that struck the area shortly after the fires. Without quick County action, the damages from the storms would have been far worse, closing roads and cutting off access to communities, and likely resulting in even larger FEMA reimbursement claims,” the representatives wrote.  

FEMA has 90 days from receiving an appeal to respond.