January 17, 2018

FEMA: 100 Days into Recovery from October Wildfires in California

It has been 100 days since the devastating October wildfires in Northern California and Orange County.

 As of close of business Jan. 16 FEMA and the State have provided the following to survivors:

The collection of household hazardous waste has been completed in seven Northern California counties. Removal of fire and ash debris is complete in Butte, Nevada and Yuba counties and near completion in Lake County. Efforts are ongoing in Mendocino, Napa and Sonoma counties and the mission is expected to be complete by early March. So far, more than 915,000 tons of debris has been removed, which is more than half of all expected fire debris.

Low-interest disaster loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) are available for businesses of all sizes, certain nonprofits, homeowners and renters. As of close of business Jan. 16, SBA:

Survivors are advised to stay in touch via the FEMA Helpline at DisasterAssistance.gov, or by phone at 800-621-3362.  TTY users should call 800-462-7585. Applicants who use 711 or Video Relay Service can call 800-621-3362. These toll-free numbers operate 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., local time, seven days a week, and are staffed by operators ready to assist survivors in their languages.

Registrants whose information changes are strongly urged to report the changes to FEMA.

Voluntary Agency Liaisons are working in each county assisting local jurisdictions, nonprofits and community stakeholders to develop and support Long Term Recovery Groups.

For more information on California’s recovery, visit WildfireRecovery.org or fema.gov/disaster/4344, Twitter at twitter.com/femaregion9 and the Cal OES website, caloes.ca.gov/.

This post was originally published here.