Tehama County FEMA center available for fire victims

A Federal Emergency Management Agency Mobile Disaster Recovery Center will begin operating in Tehama County for survivors whose uninsured and under-insured primary residence was damaged or destroyed by the Dixie Fire or McFarland Fire.

The center will be at three different locations in Tehama County for the week of Oct. 3-8. It will be staffed by FEMA personnel to assist with registration and answer questions about disaster assistance programs.

It will be at R Wild Horse Ranch, 6700 State Route 36W, Platina 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday and Monday.

It will be at Highlands Resort, 41515 SR 36E, Mill Creek 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday.

It will be at Red Bluff Community Center, 1500 S. Jackson St., Red Bluff 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday and Friday.

Survivors are encouraged to file insurance claims for damage to their homes, personal property, businesses and vehicles before they apply for FEMA assistance. To apply, visit DisasterAssistance.gov. Survivors may call the FEMA Helpline at 800-621-3362 (TTY 800-462-7585) 4 a.m. to 10 p.m., seven days a week. Multilingual operators are available.

Survivors who have a smartphone or tablet may download the FEMA app.

Applicants for disaster assistance should have the following on-hand before visiting a center or contacting FEMA: their Social Security number, the address of the damaged primary residence, a description of the damage, information about their insurance coverage, current contact number and address where they can receive mail and bank account and routing numbers for direct deposit of funds.

The U.S. Small Business Administration is offering low-interest disaster loans to non-farm businesses of all sizes, private nonprofits, homeowners and renters in the counties of Lassen, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Tehama and Trinity who suffered losses caused by the wildfires that began on July 14. Assistance will be available at each site.

For more information, visit https://www.sba.gov/funding-programs/disaster-assistance.