SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The last day to apply for disaster assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is Nov. 8, 2021.
Homeowners, renters and business owners who sustained uninsured or underinsured damage to their property from the wildfires in Lassen, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Tehama and Trinity counties have less than one week to apply for disaster assistance.
More than $4 million has been disbursed to disaster survivors through FEMA’s Individual Assistance Program – including more than $3 million in temporary housing assistance.
Survivors are being placed in Temporary Housing in Plumas County. Eligible families were identified through the Direct Housing Program, which provides temporary housing for up to 18 months from the time of the disaster declaration – Aug. 24. This program helps families move on to more permanent housing solutions.
Survivors are encouraged to file insurance claims for damage to their homes, personal property, businesses and vehicles before they apply for FEMA assistance. Disaster assistance is not a substitute for insurance and cannot compensate for all losses caused by a disaster. The easiest way to apply is online at DisasterAssistance.gov.
Assistance from FEMA may include funds for temporary housing while you are unable to live in your home. The assistance is intended to meet basic needs and supplement disaster recovery efforts of eligible applicants. This may include:
- Rental assistance or reimbursement for hotel costs;
- Funds to support the repair or replacement of owner-occupied homes that serve as the household’s primary residence, including privately-owned access routes, such as driveways, roads, or bridges; and
- Funds for disaster-caused expenses and serious needs, such as repair or replacement of personal property and vehicles, funds for moving and storage, medical, dental, child care and other miscellaneous items.
Survivors should update contact information as soon as possible because FEMA may need to reach them to perform virtual home inspections or get additional information. FEMA encourages survivors to request direct deposits of disaster assistance to their financial institution. Survivors should let FEMA know as soon as possible of any changes to their mailing or banking information.
For information on the SBA process, visit DisasterLoanAssistance.sba.gov, call the SBA’s Customer Service Center at 800-659-2955, or email disastercustomerservice@sba.gov. Individuals who are deaf or hard‑of‑hearing can call 800-877-8339.
Survivors who may need to request an accommodation or have additional questions can call the FEMA Helpline at 800-621-3362 (TTY 800-462-7585) from 4 a.m. to 10 p.m. PT, seven days a week. Multilingual operators are available.
For more information about California’s Wildfire recovery, visit fema.gov/disaster/4610 and Cal OES’ wildfirerecovery.caloes.ca.gov.
###
All FEMA disaster assistance will be provided without discrimination on the grounds of race, color, sex (including sexual harassment), sexual orientation, religion, national origin, age, disability, limited English proficiency, economic status. If you believe your civil rights are being violated, you can call the Civil Rights Resource line at 833-285-7448 or 800-462-7585 (TTY/TDD).
FEMA’s mission: Helping people before, during and after disasters.