Help for people who lost manufactured homes to fires

Oct. 2--Fire victims who were burned out of their manufactured homes have a number of agencies who can help, even for those without insurance or who lost important documents.

That was the takeaway from a Zoom meeting held Wednesday by Rep. Pam Marsh, D-Ashland, along with state, federal and legal experts.

Some 1,500 manufactured homes were destroyed in the Almeda fire, the bulk of the 2,490 residential structures destroyed.

"There is no getting away from the fact that this has been an awful month for us," Marsh said.

Since this is a disaster, property owners should not be responsible for the cleanup of hazardous debris, Marsh and other legal experts said.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency can provide up to $71,000 in assistance to a family that lost a manufactured home, but undocumented residents are not eligible unless they have children who were born in the U.S.

Sarah Mahlik with FEMA said a disaster assistance account can be set up to help homeowners begin the process to get help.

"There's a significant amount of information that we ask for," she said. "We have to be able to verify that you are who you say you are."

FEMA will be opening new offices at Central Medford High today where questions can be asked about the agency's programs, she said. These new offices will be in addition to other offices for disaster assistance.

Mahlik said FEMA offers financial assistance as long as it doesn't duplicate the financial assistance from insurance companies.

To get more information, call 800-621-3362, or www.disasterassistance.gov.

Other experts suggested victims keep a journal of all calls to insurance companies or to government agencies, and they suggested victims compile an inventory of items lost.

Warren Jackson with Oregon Building Codes said it's relatively easy to get a copy from the state to prove ownership of a particular manufactured home by going to oregon.gov/bcd/man-home-own/Pages/man-home-owner.aspx.

"The next step is if you have insurance, is to file a claim," he said.

Ronald Fredrickson with Oregon Division of Financial Regulation said his offices are putting together an advocacy team to help property owners navigate insurance questions.

"These are very emotional situations," he said. In addition to a journal and inventory of items lost, he suggested victims keep all receipts."

Some insurance companies will offer money up from to victims to help pay their immediate living expenses, such as hotels or meals.

Clinton Tapper, a Eugene lawyer, suggested victims ask their insurance company for a "certified, true copy of their policy."

"That document is going to control what is covered and what is not," he said.

He said there will be some back-and-forth as the insurance company attempts to come to agreement with the victim over the losses.

Keeping a journal handy helps later on when a property owner gets different information from different adjusters, Tapper said.

One of Tappers biggest pieces of advice is, "Don't get angry." He said there are rules that determine whether someone is cooperating or not when calling insurance companies or agencies.

He pointed out that practically every policy in Oregon is different, so be prepared to have different issues than your neighbor.

Bill Van Fliet, a statewide housing expert, said early conversations with many of the mobile home parks indicate that the property owners want to rebuild.

Fliet said other parks where the owner doesn't want to rebuild have attracted the attention of nonprofits that are looking at acquiring the properties to make sure Jackson County has a good stock of affordable housing.

Renters are not automatically entitled to move back into their former spaces since the fire effectively ended their tenancy in the parks. Also, renters should be entitled to a portion of this month's rent as well as their deposit.

For more information on the resources available and who to contact, go to facebook.com/representativepammarsh/.

Reach reporter Damian Mann at 541-776-4476 or dmann@rosebudmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @reporterdm.

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