FEMA Deadline Nears for Wildfire Victims

The deadline is fast approaching for victims of last fall’s Southern California wildfires to apply for federal assistance, and officials fear that eligible residents might miss out on millions of dollars in grants and loans.

Those interested in applying for a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency have until Friday to submit their request, and those applying for a low-interest loan from the U.S. Small Business Administration have until Jan. 24, officials said.

“The concern is that there are probably a lot of people waiting on their insurance companies,” said SBA loan officer Jody Lowery. “But if they wait too long, they’ll miss this deadline.”

At the emergency assistance center at San Bernardino International Airport on Wednesday, Lowery and other SBA employees stayed busy calling people who had requested applications but had not yet filed for assistance.

Nearby, FEMA officials were winding down from 2 1/2 months of providing emergency assistance to thousands of residents. On Wednesday, only a few residents walked into the federal assistance center, which was set up shortly after the fires broke out.

Dot and Thomas McKenzie have been renting a place in Redlands since fire destroyed their three-bedroom home on Quail Canyon Road in San Bernardino. Like many of those whom FEMA and the SBA have tried to help, the McKenzies escaped with their lives but lost most of their possessions.

On Wednesday, they sat with FEMA officials to clear up something on their application and headed over to the SBA tables. With at least $40,000 in repairs not covered by their homeowners insurance, the McKenzies will need a loan to rebuild.

“It turns your life upside down,” said Thomas McKenzie. “But we’re going to rebuild. If you saw Quail Canyon, you’d understand why.”

FEMA has received nearly 33,000 applications for aid from residents living in the five counties affected by the fires. Officials said the fires destroyed more than 3,000 homes and caused more than $2 billion in damage.

Of those applications, 11,302 came from San Bernardino County, 501 from Riverside County, 13,306 from Los Angeles County, 7,490 from San Diego County and 300 from residents in Ventura County, said FEMA spokesman James Shebl.

Since late October, the SBA has approved $126.8 million in loans to renters, homeowners and business owners throughout Southern California, Lowery said.

FEMA provides grants for costs related to property damage or loss, medical or dental expenses, moving, storage, transportation and even funeral costs. The SBA provides low-interest loans for renters, homeowners and business owners to rebuild or repair damage. It also offers loans for small business owners who have lost business and have been economically affected by the fires, Lowery said.

The assistance center in San Bernardino is no longer swarmed with people as it was in late October, when thousands of county residents were displaced from their homes and dozens of local, state and federal agencies set up an assistance center at the airport.

“Oh, my goodness, we were seeing about 400 people a day at first,” said Ena Benjamin, the FEMA center manager at the San Bernardino airport. “This was a one-stop center.”

People came from all over the county, but the majority appeared to be from such areas as Lake Arrowhead, Crestline, Running Springs and Pine Valley, Benjamin said.

Most people wanted to be reimbursed for hotel stays during the mandatory evacuations of their neighborhoods, she said. Some had lost their homes, but the vast majority complained of property damage and loss, she said.

Foot traffic has slowed considerably since October, but FEMA and the SBA are nowhere near finished grappling with the fire’s aftermath.

Once an application is processed and an inspector has assessed the damage, most people will receive a check from the SBA within 21 days, Lowery said.

FEMA officials say residents should receive a check seven to 10 days after an inspector surveys the damage.