Sacramento, CA…The Federal Emergency Management Agency added Calaveras County for individual assistance to the State of California’s recent disaster declaration for those survivors recovering from the Butte Fire that occurred September 9, 2015, and continuing.  Anyone impacted by the Butte Fire in Calaveras County should immediately register your household for FEMA by calling FEMA’s toll-free number at 1-800-621-3362 (FEMA). Those who have a speech disability or hearing loss and use TTY, should call 1-800-462-7585 directly. For those who use 711 or Video Relay Service (VRS), call 1-800-621-3362.  The telephone numbers will operate from 6 a.m. to 12 a.m. (local time) seven days a week until further notice.

Registration is also available online at www.DisasterAssistance.gov and via the FEMA smart phone app at m.fema.gov.

We also encourage applicants to call their insurance agents to file a claim at the same time.

The Individuals and Households Program provides financial assistance and/or direct services to those unable to meet the needs through other means. Assistance can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster.

Low-interest disaster loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) also are available. SBA helps businesses of all sizes, private non-profit organizations, homeowners and renters fund repairs or rebuilding efforts and cover the cost of replacing lost or disaster-damaged personal property. These disaster loans cover losses not fully compensated by insurance or other recoveries and do not duplicate benefits of other agencies or organizations.

Registering with FEMA is required for federal aid, even if the person has registered with another disaster relief organization such as the American Red Cross, local officials or churches. Registrants with FEMA must use the name that appears on their Social Security card and will need to provide:

• Social Security number;
• Address of the damaged residence and proof the applicant lived there at the time of the disaster;
• Description of the damage;
• Information about insurance coverage;
• A current contact telephone number;
• An address where you can get mail; and
• Bank account and routing numbers (if you want direct deposit of any financial assistance).

Assistance from FEMA and other federal and state programs differs from household to household, depending on circumstances. Each case is treated individually, and every situation is different.

FEMA assistance is supplemental and not intended to cover all your losses or make you whole. FEMA assistance cannot duplicate insurance coverage.

FEMA’s mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from and mitigate all hazards.

The SBA is the federal government’s primary source of money for the long-term rebuilding of disaster-damaged private property. SBA helps businesses of all sizes, private non-profit organizations, homeowners and renters fund repairs or rebuilding efforts and cover the cost of replacing lost or disaster-damaged personal property. These disaster loans cover losses not fully compensated by insurance or other recoveries and do not duplicate benefits of other agencies or organizations. For more information, applicants may contact SBA’s Disaster Assistance Customer Service Center by calling 800-659-2955, emailing disastercustomerservice@sba.gov, or visiting SBA’s website at www.sba.gov/disaster. Deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals may call 800-877-8339.