Over $40 Million Paid Out to So-Cal Wildfire Victims

by Akkeeia

One month after President Bush signed a disaster declaration, $9.7 million is in the hands of California wildfire victims who live in the disaster-designated counties of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, Santa Barbara, and Ventura.

Individual assistance (for disaster victims) is available in the counties listed above as well as public assistance (for state, county and local governments) for emergency work such as debris removal and reimbursement for protective measures. President Bush amended the Oct. 24 declaration on Nov. 8 to allow the counties of Orange, San Bernardino and San Diego to apply for assistance for public work, such as road repair, public utilities, public buildings, and public parks.

• Disaster assistance summary:
  • $6.9 million - Housing assistance for rental expenses, home repair or replacement.                         
  • $2.8 million - Other needs assistance for losses and damage to personal property; vehicle repair or replacement; moving expenses; and other disaster-related costs.
  • $38 million - SBA low-interest loans approved.
  
   
• 17,776 have registered for state and federal disaster assistance online at www.fema.gov or by phone at 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) or TTY 1-800-462-7585. Phone lines are open from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m., daily.
• The deadline to apply for federal and state disaster assistance has been extended to Jan. 9, 2008.
• 7,566 home inspections have been completed in the disaster-designated counties.
• 13,068 people have visited assistance centers seeking disaster assistance and mitigation information in English and many other languages. The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) representatives are also onsite to assist with loan applications for homeowners, renters and business owners. A complete list of centers follows this release.
• 16,677 residents and 4,585 businesses have received disaster assistance information from FEMA's Community Relations teams.
• A grant of $822,438 has been approved for the California Department of Mental Health for crisis-counseling services for victims of the recent Southern California wildfires. Crisis counseling is available for those who live or work in disaster-affected counties. Hotline numbers are:

                          Los Angeles               (800) 854-7771
                          Orange                        (866) 830-6011
                          Riverside                    (800) 706-7500
                          San Bernardino           (888) 743-1478
                          San Diego                    (800) 479-3339
                          Santa Barbara             (888) 868-1649
                          Ventura                       (800) 671-0887

• People living or working in the seven disaster-designated counties whose jobs were affected by the California wildfires may be eligible for Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA) from the California State Employment Development Department. The deadline to apply is Nov. 26.

  The fastest and easiest option for individuals to file claims for DUA benefits is on-line at   http://www.edd.ca.gov/fleclaim.htm.

  Claimants can also file by telephone:

  English...................           1-800-300-5616
  Spanish..................           1-800-326-8937
  Cantonese.................       1-800-547-3506
  Mandarin................         1-866-303-0706
  Vietnamese................      1-800-547-2058
  TTY (non-voice)......         1-800-815-9387

• The California State Bar has a legal assistance hotline at 1-866-636-9041. Wildfire victims can call the line with disaster-related basic legal questions such as those on replacing lost documents, housing-landlord-tenant disputes, and insurance issues.
• The U.S. Small Business Administration Disaster Loan Outreach Center in San Bernardino has relocated to the Office of the Fire Marshall, 620 South E Street. Hours are: Mon.� Fri. 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and closed on the weekends.

FEMA coordinates the federal government's role in preparing for, preventing, mitigating the effects of, responding to, and recovering from all domestic disasters, whether natural or man-made, including acts of terror.