The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Forestry Bureau, in cooperation with US Forest Service – State and Private Forestry, has awarded $207,807 in 50 percent cost-share grants to 82 rural Iowa fire departments to aid their efforts in protecting Iowan’s and their property from wildfires.The grants offer valuable funding assistance for wildfire suppression equipment, personal protective equipment and communications equipment.

Among the area fire departments that should be watching for the notification that their 2014 VFA Grant requests have been approved are those in: Afton,  Anita,  Atlantic, Avoca, Carson,Grant, Hamburg, Harlan, Irwin, Jamaica, Logan, Manning, Mapleton, Pacific Junction, Sidney, and Stuart.

Gail Kantak, fire supervisor with the DNR’s Forestry Bureau, stressed the importance of submitting Wildland Fire Reports whenever fire departments respond to a wildland fire or provide assistance to a prescribed or controlled wildland fire. Departments actively returning these reports receive priority points when the Volunteer Fire Assistance grant applications are scored. The wildland fire reports are compiled locally and nationally and are reported to Congress.

Wildland Fire reporting forms and spreadsheets are available at www.iowadnr.gov/fire.