FEMA’s Fire Management Assistance Grant Program. Under those grants, FEMA pays for 75 percent of the state’s eligible fire-fighting costs. Eligible costs include equipment, supplies, and emergency work evacuations, shelters and traffic control

A major disaster declaration for California was granted Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2007, for seven affected California counties (Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, Santa Barbara and Ventura).

FEMA Registration

Registration Hotline (1-800-621-FEMA (3362) is operating 24/7 and applicants need

Social Security number

Address of damaged residence

Description of damage

Insurance info

Contact phone number and address to receive mail

If direct deposit is preferred, provide bank routing info.

As of October 29, 2007:

FEMA has processed more than 10,120 registrations

Internet registrations are at 32%

Housing Assistance Disbursed $1,177,975

Other Needs Assistance Disbursed $0

Households approved for assistance: 422

Financial assistance approved: $1,419,746.

Mobile Disaster Recovery Centers (MDRC)

FEMA has deployed a total of 11 Mobile Disaster Recovery Centers (MDRCs) to the State of California to aid individuals in applying for FEMA Disaster Assistance.

5 more deployed from Ft. Worth (TX) on October 30, 2007

Local Assistance Centers

San Diego County

Rancho Bernardo Glassman Recreation Center at 18446 West Bernardo Drive, Rancho Bernardo.
Monday – Friday, 7 a.m. – 8 p.m.;
Saturday 8 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Sunday 9 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Ramona Community School at 1710 Montecito Road, Ramona.
Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. – 7 p.m.;
Saturday 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Sunday 9 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Fallbrook Community Center at 341 Heald Lane, Fallbrook.
Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. – 7 p.m.;
Saturday 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Sunday 9 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Rancho San Diego Cuyamaca College at 900 Rancho San Diego Parkway, El Cajon.
Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. – 7 p.m.;
Saturday 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Sunday 9 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Los Angeles County

Castaic Regional Sports Complex at 31230 North Castaic Road, Castaic.
Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. – 7 p.m.;
Saturday 9 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Sunday 9 a.m. – 2 p.m.

George A. Caravalho Santa Clarita Sports Complex - Activities Center at 20880 Centre Pointe Parkway, Santa Clarita.
Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. – 7 p.m.;
Saturday 8 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Sunday 9 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Malibu Bluffs Park at 24250 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu.
Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. – 7 p.m.;
Saturday 9 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Sunday 9 a.m. – 2 p.m.

San Bernardino County

National Orange Show Events Center at 689 South “E” Street, San Bernardino.
Monday – Friday, 7 a.m. – 7 p.m.;
Saturday 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Sunday 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Orange County

One Stop Center/Strip Mall at 125 Technology Way, Suite 200, Irvine
Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. – 7 p.m.;
Saturday 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Sunday 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Home Inspections

As of October 30, 2007:

Housing Inspections Issued 4,193

Housing Inspections Completed 2,346

Callers are requesting assistance with out of pocket expenses. Lodging, food, medical

Federal loans with interest rates as low as less than 3 percent per year are available to California Wildfire victims

Southern Californians who were affected by the fires may have some help with getting a loan. Federal loans with interest rates as low as less than three percent per year are available to fire victims with acceptable credit ratings and who can pay them off.

The U.S. Small Business Administration has begun taking loan applications from fire victims who apply through the FEMA disaster relief process. Through FEMA, fire victims with significant losses can also access federal and state grants.

he S.B.A. loans can go to homeowners or renters to replace damaged property, including cars. Loans to homeowners can go up to $200,000.

Persons with mortgages who are unable to get any credit elsewhere can refinance their mortgages with the low-interest federal loans, according to the SBA disaster fact sheet.

Business loans can go to nonprofit groups, the SBA said, and can go up to $1.5 million. Such loans may be used to relocate a business out of the disaster area, if necessary.

Persons getting an approved loan for damages can also get capital to pay for improvements to protect against future damages, and can fund such things as retaining walls or drains, the government said in a fact sheet.

Fire victims must have an acceptable credit record, show the ability to repay all loans, mad may have to put up collateral, such as real estate, as security for the loans. The interest rates start at just below three percent.

The deadline for loan applicants suffering physical damage to their property is Dec. 24, and the deadline for persons claiming economic damages has until July 28, 2008 to apply.

SBA Disaster Assistance Customer Service Center:
(800) 659-2955.

2007 California Wildfires Facts, Statistics, and Overall Damaged Assessment as of Friday, October 26, 2007

California Wildfires Statstics including LA, Orange, San Bernardino, Santa Barbara Riverside, San Diego and Ventura County:

- Burned Acreage: More than 489,000 (more than 764 square miles).

- Homes destroyed: More than 1,800, according to authorities.

- Deaths: Three confirmed fire deaths, seven fire-related deaths. Authorities were investigating whether four burned bodies found Thursday east of San Diego were fire victims.

- Injuries: About 30 civilians, 52 firefighters.

Major wildfires burning in California, by county:

San Diego County:

- Witch Fire: Nearly than 198,000 acres (more than 309 square miles) in northern San Diego County from Witch Creek to Rancho Santa Fe. 30 percent contained. 1,061 homes and 30 commercial properties destroyed. Two burned bodies found in a charred home. Two civilians and 12 firefighters injured. Containment expected Sunday.

- Poomacha Fire: About 38,500 acres (more than 60 square miles) on the La Jolla Indian Reservation and in northeastern San Diego County. 30 percent contained. 60 homes destroyed. Twelve firefighters injured.

- Horno/Ammo Fire: About 17,000 acres (more than 26 square miles) on the Camp Pendleton Marine base. At least 40 percent contained.

- Harris Fire: About 84,000 acres (more than 131 square miles) north of the border town of Tecate, about 70 miles southeast of San Diego. 20 percent contained. Ninety-seven homes, 17 outbuildings and two commercial buildings destroyed. One civilian killed, 21 injured civilians and seven injured firefighters. Containment expected Nov. 4.

- Rice Fire: About 9,000 acres (more than 10 square miles) in Fallbrook in northern San Diego County. 30 percent contained. 206 homes and two commercial properties destroyed. One firefighter injured.

Ventura County:

- Ranch Fire: More than 56,000 acres (more than 87 square miles) in the Castaic area near Piru. 81 percent contained. One home, eight outbuildings destroyed. One injury reported.

Orange County:

- Santiago Fire: About 26,000 acres (more than 40 square miles) east of Irvine. 30 percent contained. Fourteen homes destroyed. Four minor injuries to firefighters.

San Bernardino County:

- Slide Fire: More than 11,000 acres (almost 17 square miles) in Green Valley Lake area of the San Bernardino Mountains, east of Lake Arrowhead. 15 percent contained. At least 200 homes destroyed. One firefighter suffered minor injuries.

- Grass Valley Fire: About 1,100 acres (about 2 square miles) in Grass Valley area northwest of Lake Arrowhead in the San Bernardino Mountains. 70 percent contained. At least 113 homes destroyed. No injuries reported.

Contained fires:

Los Angeles County:

- Buckweed Fire: More than 38,000 (about 60 square miles) south of Agua Dulce in northeastern Los Angeles County. Contained. 21 homes, 22 outbuildings, two bridges and 40 vehicles destroyed. Three civilians and two firefighters injured.

- Canyon Fire: More than 4,500 acres (about 7 square miles) in the coastal community of Malibu. Contained. Six homes, two businesses and a church destroyed, and nine homes and five commercial buildings damaged. Three firefighters suffered minor injuries.

- Magic Fire: More than 2,800 acres (about 4 square miles) in northern Los Angeles County, including Stevenson Ranch. Contained. No structural damage or injuries.

Riverside County:

- Rosa Fire: More than 400 acres (about two-thirds of a square mile) near Temecula. Contained.

Santa Barbara County:

- Sedgewick Fire: More than 700 acres (more than a square mile) near Los Olivos. Contained. No homes destroyed and no reports of injuries.

Search for Fire Damaged Homes in California Wildfires 2007

Find homes damaged or destroyed in the fires. This is a partial list from a variety of government sources and put together by LA Times.com

Fire Damage Database by LATimes.com

City of Poway : Witch Creek Fire

Preliminary List of Structures Lost in the Fire:

This list is preliminary, and is not complete. Damage assessment is ongoing.

• List of Known Structures Lost (pdf) updated 10/25/07 2:30 pm
• Map of Lost Structures (pdf) updated 10/26/07 2:30 pm

City of Escondido:

Download PDF files of list of Structures Lost

Sales of new homes posted an unexpected gain in September although the improvement came after sales had fallen to the slowest pace in more than a decade.

The Commerce Department reported today that sales of new homes rose by 4.8 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 770,000 units. That level of activity was still 23.3 percent below a year ago, indicating that housing remains in a steep downturn.

Analysts had been expecting sales would fall by 2.5 percent last month from an August sales pace that had originally been reported as 795,000 homes. However, that figure was revised sharply lower in the new report to show a sales rate of just 735,000 in August, the slowest sales pace in 11 years.

Meanwhile, orders for big-ticket manufactured goods dropped an unexpected 1.7 percent last month following an even bigger 5.3 percent plunge in August. The first back-to-back declines in factory orders in more than a year raised new worries about how much harm would be inflicted on the economy from a severe housing slump and credit crunch.

The report on home sales showed that the median new home price in September — the point where half the homes sold for more and half for less — rose to $238,000, up 2.5 percent from August, which had seen prices fall to the lowest level in nearly a year.

The rebound in home sales was led by a 37.7 percent surge in the West. Sales were also up 0.5 percent in the South. But sales of new homes fell by 19.5 percent in the Midwest and 6.6 percent in the Northeast.