FEMA awards $3 million to state for Campbell County's 2024 wildfires

GILLETTE (WNE) — Last week, the Federal Emergency Management Agency announced $3 million had been awarded to the Wyoming Forestry Division to help pay for firefighting efforts in the Flat Rock Fire and the Constitution Fire, which combined to burn nearly 80,000 acres in the fall of 2024.

FEMA awarded $1.5 million for the Flat Rock Fire and $1.5 million for the Constitution Fire for things such as fire line suppression, structure protection, fire line construction, mop-up and evacuation operations.

The state had applied for these dollars in late 2024 as part of a federal cost-share program. The total cost for each of these fires was $2 million each, meaning the state is responsible for the remaining $500,000 for each fire.

According to FEMA, 2,000 firefighters in total worked 48,000 hours on the fires.

This regional funding was part of a broader effort announced by the Department of Homeland Security and was approved before the current government funding lapse.

The Constitution Fire burned 24,630 acres. Federal agencies that worked on the fire included the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the National Weather Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Park Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Forest Service. Agencies from Wyoming, Montana, Colorado, South Dakota, Kansas and Arizona also worked the fire.

In total, 190 pieces of fire equipment and 1,388 firefighters worked on the fire for 33,312 hours.

The Flat Rock Fire burned 54,421 acres. The same federal and state agencies responded to this fire. About 115 pieces of fire equipment were used, and 612 firefighters spent 14,688 hours fighting the fire.

Additionally, FEMA awarded $4.5 million to the state for the Horse Draw Fire, which burned 174,547 acres in Johnson County.

On this fire, 3,471 firefighters worked 83,304 hours and used 388 pieces of equipment.

This story was published on Feb. 23, 2026.