Just two weeks after President Barack Obama declared Lake County a major disaster area due to the Valley Fire, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has disbursed more than $4.5 million to victims of the blaze.
“We’re pleased at the level of response thus far,” said FEMA external affairs specialist Steven Solomon.
Of the $4.5 million provided by FEMA, $3.2 million has been directed toward housing. The remaining $1.3 million covered other personal needs.
Between the Valley Fire and Butte Fire, 2,861 residents and businesses have registered with FEMA since the presidential declaration. For the first time, the federal government separated the data on a per county basis. In Lake County, close to 2,050 have registered.
FEMA has 21 inspectors in the field and they have completed 1,591 investigations as of Wednesday morning. The team includes housing inspectors, who verify and record damage for registered and eligible residents and direct hosing operations inspectors, charged with assessing manufactured housing needs.
All of the inspectors carry photo identification.
In addition, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers inspectors are looking at potential manufactured housing sites.
“I would encourage anyone holding back from registering to do so as soon as possible,” Solomon said.
