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FEMA's Manufactured Housing Program winding down for Valley fire survivors
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – County officials are working with state and federal agencies to get extensions for Valley fire survivors who continue to rely on temporary housing units offered through the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Lake County Supervisors Rob Brown and Moke Simon, both of whom have been very active in local disaster recovery efforts, were recently briefed by officials with the Governor's Office of Emergency Services, or CalOES, officials regarding the 35 FEMA manufactured housing units, or MHUs, currently in use by Valley fire survivors.
As the public was made aware at the time the MHUs were deployed, FEMA's initial program for the MHUs was set to end March 22, 2017, or 18 months from the date of the presidentially-declared disaster.
The county reported that there are 28 Valley fire homeowners – persons or families who owned a home lost in the disaster – living in MHUs. CalOES was able to secure an extension to allow those families to continue using the MHUs through Sept. 22, 2017.
During this time of extension, continued compliance with all FEMA requirements, including the payment of rent, is necessary.
However, no FEMA extension is possible for renters and March 22, 2017, is the date by which persons or families who lived in rented housing lost in the disaster must vacate MHUs.
Seven survivor households meet this criteria and have received ongoing notices from FEMA of this deadline since MHU occupancy began.
Renters will need to vacate or be subject to rent, penalty fees and, ultimately, eviction.
In anticipation of the March 22, deadline, county staff has reached out by telephone to each of the seven renter households.
The county said most of those households are reporting that they have made other housing arrangements.
Supervisor Brown intends to work on solutions for those who have been unable to make other housing arrangements.
For the few who have been unreachable by telephone thus far, he asks that they call him directly at 707-349-2628.
Supervisor Brown also encourages all Valley fire survivors to attend the upcoming community meeting on the state CalHOME grant, to be hosted by state Sen. Mike McGuire on Feb. 16 at Middletown High School Gym at 6:30 p.m.
The long-awaited CalHome program will provide loans to low income homeowners to rebuild homes lost in the Valley and Clayton fires, as well as to renters impacted by these disasters who may become first time homebuyers.