Grant Reimbursement Process

Grants for reimbursement of costs for Firewise Mitigation are available through Yavapai Firewise. Reimbursements “infers” that payment to a homeowner, HOA or association will be after-the-fact.  That means that the mitigation work must be completed during (not before) the period of the grant and the appropriate paperwork (receipts, canceled checks, volunteer timesheets, invoices) is submitted to Yavapai Firewise (also known as Prescott Area Wildland/Urban Interface Commission).

Yavapai Firewise Grant Administrator consolidates reporting paperwork and corrects as needed prior to submission to the AZ Department of Forestry and Fire Management (AZ-DFFM) Grants Specialist.  After review and approval by AZ-DFFM, the paperwork moves to Federal offices in New Mexico for more review and final approval for payment. The check is then ordered and sent to AZ-DFFM. They in turn deposit and cut a check to Yavapai Firewise.

The submissions from AZ-DFFM to New Mexico offices include submissions from other grant recipients. The process usually takes 60-120 days for the state to issue a check to Yavapai Firewise. However, the process can be delayed and we've seen as much as a 180 day wait. This is an exception and most often happens during fire season when staff are participating in fire commands around the state.

Cash cannot be recognized by AZ-DFFM as legitimate payment for reimbursable work done under a grant.  Cancelled check or credit card receipt are the only acceptable proofs of payment.

Yavapai Firewise will issue checks within two weeks after receiving the funds. Depending on the size of check received, the bank may hold the deposit for five business days.