Catholic Charities of Northern Nevada says that 165 people have so far applied for some sort of assistance after the Bug and Hawk fires destroyed almost 60 homes in the area.
There are a lot of steps to recover from a wildfire.
Unfortunately, there’s not a pot of money that the state can hand out, and no single resource will cover the cost of everything, but there are lots of programs looking to help in many different ways.
“It's challenging to expect a survivor to understand all the bureaucracy and complexity and all the eligibility requirements and all of these local, state and federal programs," said Sharon Luce, Deputy Administrator, Nevada Office of Emergency Management.
One new federal program is Small Business Administration Disaster Assistance Loans.
Those are low-interest disaster loans for losses not fully covered by insurance for homes, businesses, and non-profit organizations impacted by the recent wildfires.
People can apply now to see how much they’re eligible for.
The Nevada Office of Emergency Management is also directing victims to fill out the wildfire survivor form to get more tailored advice for their situation. Each person will be assigned a case manager who can help them navigate all the programs that are available.
On the Washoe County side, things are still only in phase one as the road to recovery is a marathon and not a sprint.
"We are cleaning hazardous materials off people's property,” said Bethany Drysdale, Communications Manager, Washoe County. “Then from there, they're going to need to go in and clean debris, clean ash, get that out of there. That requires or may require permits for demolition. That may require building permits. So it's a lot, and we have all that information in one place.”
That one place is a ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ website.
The City of Reno is still accepting applications for the AB 540 Disaster Recovery Program to give fire victims short-term rental assistance for up to 90 days.
Luce says they are being expected by the federal government to do more and will be looking towards the Nevada Legislature come February to give them more tools in the toolbox.
“We are looking for an increase in staffing and capabilities in recovery to help us with damage assessments, help us with debris removal," Luce said.
The state of Nevada has a list of recovery resources. The Washoe Regional Emergency Information Center also has a website available.
