Federal Wildfire Relief Act of 2024.

This bill establishes a Federal Wildfire Relief Fund within the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to compensate structure owners, insurers, and electric utilities for damages from catastrophic wildfires, subject to certain conditions and limits.

Sec. 2, Declaration: The President, through FEMA, must declare a wildfire as catastrophic for relief to be available under this Act.

Sec. 3, Establishment of the Federal Wildfire Relief Fund: FEMA shall create and run the Fund to adjudicate and pay claims for qualifying wildfires, review electric utility compliance for access to a liability shield, and may appoint an independent claims manager. To qualify, a covered utility must comply with state or federal wildfire mitigation plans, and damaged structures must be insured for at least 50% of value. Structure owners can receive up to 25% of uninsured losses, capped at 50% of insured losses up to $1,000,000, with a 180-day deadline for compensation and possible advance payments. Insurers may get up to 10% of their losses on insured structures meeting mitigation plans. Covered utilities may recover losses paid to structure owners, limited to 10% of their gross assets. Participation is voluntary, but recipients must waive claims against the utility for that wildfire. Liability for covered utilities complying with mitigation plans is limited to 10% of gross assets. State-approved wildfire mitigation plans are the standard; utilities with prolonged noncompliance are ineligible for the liability shield. FERC will approve plans for states without one. Claims outside the Fund go to a federal claims court.

Sec. 4, Other Federal Wildfire Relief Fund Limitations: The Fund does not cover personal injury or wrongful death claims, only loss of habitable dwellings or business structures. There is no cap on total compensation per wildfire for utility repayment.

Sec. 5, Definitions: A catastrophic wildfire damages or destroys over 500 structures or causes over $50,000,000 in damages, or as FEMA determines. Administrator means the FEMA Administrator or appointed manager. Covered utility includes any electric utility or company owning or operating electric equipment.