DENVER – Community Members affected by the Marshall Fire and straight-line winds disaster have two weeks left to apply for federal disaster assistance. The deadline for both FEMA disaster assistance and U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) loans is Wednesday March 2, 2022.
The Disaster Recovery Center, located at 1755 S. Public Road, Lafayette, Colorado will be closed on Monday, February 21, 2022, in observance of the President’s Day federal holiday. The center will reopen the following day, Tuesday, February 22 at 9 a.m.
Boulder County community members affected by the disaster can still apply for assistance or check on the status of their application in the following ways:
Going on-line to DisasterAssistance.gov.
Calling 800-621-3362. Multilingual operators are available. The toll-free number is open every day from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. MST. If you use a relay service, such as video relay service (VRS), captioned telephone service or others, give FEMA the number for that service.
Visiting the Disaster Recovery Center at 1755 S. Public Road, Lafayette, Colorado. Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. MST Monday through Saturday (closed Sundays and President’s Day).
Downloading the FEMA mobile app for smartphones.
Disaster Recovery Update
In the month and a half since President Biden approved a major disaster declaration for the Marshall Fire and straight-line winds in Colorado, federal agencies have provided more than $75.4 million in grants and loans to assist in recovery as of February 15, 2022.
To date, a total of 3,030 people in Boulder County have applied with FEMA for assistance. FEMA has approved $1,480,306.09 through the Individuals and Households program, consisting of $926,683.38 in Housing Assistance for home repairs and rental expenses, and $553,622.71 in Other Needs Assistance for repair or replacement of personal property, vehicle repair or replacement, moving expenses and other disaster-related needs.
In addition, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has approved $74,014,600 in low interest disaster loans for homeowners, renters, and businesses.
The application deadline for both FEMA assistance and SBA disaster loans is Wednesday, March 2, 2022.
Stay In Touch With FEMA
Homeowners and renters who applied for FEMA disaster assistance are encouraged to notify FEMA of changes to their mailing address, phone number, email address, and if they discover additional damage or receive an insurance settlement. Updating contact information ensures that FEMA can reach you to ask questions or provide new information. Missing or wrong information in your application could result in delays in receiving assistance.
It’s important to stay in touch with FEMA regarding any new information on your insurance claim. FEMA cannot complete your application until a copy of the insurance settlement is in your file. Once you receive the information from your agent, be sure to provide a copy to FEMA.
FEMA Public Assistance
FEMA’s Public Assistance Program (PA) is a grant program which provides funding for rebuilding necessary infrastructure to state and local governments and certain types of private nonprofit organizations following a presidential disaster declaration. Assistance is available for debris removal and emergency protective measures taken to promote public safety, as well as permanent work projects, which can include repair or replacement of disaster-damaged facilities, such as roads, bridges, public utilities, including water treatment and electrical plants, government buildings and parks. The federal cost share for eligible work is no less that 75 percent.
As of the January 30 deadline, 20 Requests for Public Assistance (RPA) have been submitted to FEMA. Of those, 17 have been approved, 2 are under FEMA review, and 1 has been withdrawn.
Mitigation Community Education & Outreach
FEMA’s Mitigation Community Education & Outreach team provides mitigation advice to community members affected by the Marshall Fire and straight-line wind event. Topics include home repair, ignition resistant construction, wind resistant construction, putting together supply kits, and hiring a contractor. Mitigation specialists are located at the Disaster Recovery Center in Lafayette and also will be visiting local home improvement stores.
In addition to in-person help, a FEMA Mitigation Helpline and email address are available for community members to receive mitigation advice.
Hotline number: 833-FEMA-4-US (833-336-2487), open Monday – Friday, 7 a.m. – 3 p.m. MST (closed President’s Day, Monday February 21, 2022).
Email: fema-r8-hmhelp@fema.dhs.gov.
From Thursday, Feb. 17 through Tuesday, Feb. 22 (closed Monday, Feb 21) the Mitigation team will be at Lowe’s located at 355 Ken Pratt Blvd, Longmont, Colorado. Outreach will continue the following week, Thursday, Feb. 24 – Tuesday, March 1, at Ace Hardware, located at 1727 Main St, Longmont, Colorado.
Additional Aid for Individuals
The hotline number for Disaster Legal Services is 877-370-1216.
By the Numbers
2,742 cumulative survivor interactions have taken place at the FEMA Disaster Recovery Center.
A total of 705 FEMA housing inspections have been completed.
FEMA Disaster Survivor Assistance teams visited 4,780 homes and businesses and have so far interacted with 2,978 survivors.
More Information:
For more information about Marshall Fire and straight-line winds recovery in Boulder County, visit the FEMA disaster webpage at https://www.fema.gov/disaster/4634, the Colorado Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management webpage at https://dhsem.colorado.gov/ or the Boulder County webpage at https://www.bouldercounty.org/disasters/wildfires/marshall/. For the Small Business Administration information, visit https://disasterloanassistance.sba.gov/ela/s/.