Loan Application Deadline Extended

Southern California residents and business owners affected by this fall’s wildfires will have two more months to apply for disaster loans, the U. S. Small Business Administration has announced.

The deadline, initially set to expire Monday, will instead be pushed back to Feb. 25, said Rick Jenkins, an SBA spokesman.

“With all the hillsides burned so badly, there may be additional claims from mudslides,” Jenkins said in explaining why the SBA extended the deadline by 60 days.

Loans of up to $100,000 are available to homeowners for repairs, while $20,000 loans may be granted to homeowners and renters for replacement of personal property. Business owners may qualify for up to $1.5 million to repair or replace real estate, machinery and inventory, or to offset economic losses suffered as a direct result of the firestorms.

So far, the SBA has approved 460 disaster loans totaling more than $31 million to residents and business owners in Southern California. In Ventura County, 15 residents have received SBA disaster loans totaling $386,000.

Applicants must first register with the Federal Emergency Management Agency before applying for a loan. They may do so by calling FEMA at (800) 462-9029 or by visiting one of three multi-agency disaster centers opened in Southern California. The Malibu disaster center at 23661 Pacific Coast Highway is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays.