California Governor Schwarzenegger Requests Federal Government to Declare Disaster, Provide Loans for Angora Fire Victims

07/04/2007 -- California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today sent the following letter to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) requesting that El Dorado County be declared a disaster area in order to provide SBA Disaster Loan Program assistance to Angora Fire victims.

July 4, 2007

Mr. Alfred Judd
Director
Office of Disaster Assistance
Field Operations Center West
U.S. Small Business Administration
Post Office Box 419004
Sacramento, California 95841-9004

Dear Director Judd,

On June 24, 2007, the Angora Fire began in the North Upper Truckee area in South Lake Tahoe, California. The fire burned out of control, threatening hundreds of residences and commercial structures, and resulted in thousands of evacuations. Numerous homes were either destroyed or severely damaged by this disaster, causing devastating losses to residents. As a result of this disaster, El Dorado County proclaimed a local emergency June 24, 2007, and subsequently requested state and federal assistance by a separate proclamation issued June 25, 2007. In response to El Dorado County’s request, I proclaimed a State of Emergency for this event June 25, 2007.

As you are aware, a joint Preliminary Damage Assessment (PDA) was conducted June 28-29, 2007, to determine the extent and type of state and/or federal disaster assistance needed to help this area recover. Damage surveys indicated that 254 homes have been destroyed, and at least 25 of these have uninsured losses of 40 percent of their value, thus meeting the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) minimum criteria for the SBA Loan Program. Based on this information, I request that you declare El Dorado County a disaster area in order to provide SBA Disaster Loan Program assistance to Angora Fire victims.

In closing, please accept my sincere appreciation for the support that the SBA has consistently provided to Californians in time of disaster, and thank you in advance for your favorable and immediate consideration of this request. If you have any questions or need additional information, you may contact Henry Renteria, Director of the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (OES), at (916) 845‑8506.

Sincerely,

Arnold Schwarzenegger

cc: El Dorado County Board of Supervisors
El Dorado County Office of Emergency Services
Henry Renteria, Director, Governor’s Office of Emergency Services

Source: California Governor