President Declares Major Disaster for Texas, Okla. After Wildfire Threat

The head of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) reported that federal disaster aid has been made available for Texas and Oklahoma to supplement state and local recovery efforts in the area struck by an extreme wildfire threat beginning on Dec. 1, 2005, and continuing.

Acting FEMA Director David Paulison said federal funding in the form of Individual Assistance is available in Texas to affected individuals in the counties of Callahan, Cooke, Eastland, Erath, Hood, Montague, Palo Pinto, Tarrant, and Wise. Individual Assistance is provided for losses incurred on or after Dec. 1, 2005, and can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster.

Public Assistance also is available for emergency protective measures implemented on or after Dec. 27, 2005 for all eligible counties in the State. This assistance will be made available on a cost-sharing basis to State and local governments for those counties being threatened with an urgent danger from wildfires. This assistance will be provided at 75 percent Federal funding.

Federal funding is also available on a cost-sharing basis for hazard mitigation measures statewide.

In Oklahoma, federal funding is available to affected individuals in the counties of Canadian, Cotton, Garvin, Hughes, Lincoln, Logan, Mayes, Okfuskee, Oklahoma, Pottawatomie, Seminole, and Stephens. Assistance can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster.

Residents and business owners who sustained losses in the designated counties can begin applying for assistance tomorrow by registering online at www.fema.gov or by calling 1-800-621-FEMA(3362) or 1-800-462-7585 (TTY) for the hearing and speech impaired. The toll-free telephone numbers will operate from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Editor’s note: See related stories in Texas/South Central news.