LAKEPORT >> Federal authorities have identified a location suited for some temporary housing currently available in staging areas.
Clearlake Resort and Campground offers approximately 40 pads to secure one, two or three bedroom Manufactured Housing Units, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. A second location mentioned by FEMA matched a site near Lake Tahoe and appeared to be associated with Butte Fire recovery.
Authorities have fielded questions about using the Hoberg’s Resort site on Cobb Mountain, largely destroyed by the Valley Fire, for a housing site. According to FEMA external affairs specialist Stephen Solomon, this location was rejected due to hazardous debris issues, as well as the discovery of artifacts.
The federal government has just over 100 fully furnished temporary housing units ready for transportation to Lake County from a staging area near Sacramento. These are intended as a last resort, when other options have been exhausted.
Two units have been established on private property, but they have yet to be occupied.
Disaster recovery funds approved by FEMA approached $10 million on Monday, with 99 percent of existing applications complete. A total of 2,471 Lake County residents have registered for federal funds through FEMA.
Representatives of the agency arrived in Lake County on September 23, a day after the presidential disaster declaration. Since then they have tallied 2,149 visits to Lake County Disaster Recovery Centers, inspected almost 2,500 sites, visited with 567 local businesses, spoken with some 7,000 affected by fires and referred 930 people to other agencies, including the Small Business Administration.
“While we are pleased with the level of registrations that we’ve completed, we recognize there’s still more to be done,” Solomon said. “We pledge to be here as long as it takes.”
