Residents in Camp Fire burn area may be forced to leave homes again or risk losing $1.7 billion in funding
PARADISE — Previously passed laws in Butte County and the Town of Paradise allowing Camp Fire victims to live on property with burned debris may jeopardize $1.7 billion in federal funding for debris removal, according to a letter from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
In a letter dated Jan. 24, FEMA’s Federal Coordinating Officer David Samaniego told California Office of Emergency Services Acting Deputy Director Eric Lamoureux that allowing Paradise and unincorporated Butte County residents to reoccupy their property prior to fire debris and hazardous materials being removed is in contrast to a warning issued in December by Butte County Health Officer Dr. Andy Miller.
“Allowing residents to place temporary housing units/RVs/similar housing structures may impact the justification for (private property debris removal) related activities and federal reimbursement of PPDR costs,” wrote Samaniego in the letter, “as the FEMA approved justification for the reimbursement of PPDR costs is based on State and County’s identified need to ‘eliminate immediate threats to life, public health, and safety.’”
Paradise public information officer Ursula Smith said the Paradise Town Council was asked by FEMA through Cal OES to remove an item from its agenda at the last meeting, which was held the day before FEMA’s letter was issued. The item would have amended town ordinance No. 573, Section 7, relating to the residential use of RVs on private property. Smith said Town Manager Lauren Gill was asked to pull the item and she did, calling it an atypical request.
“We ran that by the (previous) FEMA guy in charge, and he was fine with it,” said Butte County Supervisor Doug Teeter. “It’s pretty rotten that we worked with one and another comes and changes it.”
https://www.chicoer.com/2019/01/30/residents-may-be-forced-to-leave-homes-again-or-risk-losing-1-7-billion-in-funding/
WTF is FEMA up to??
This stinks anons!
People have nowhere else to go and now they're getting kicked off their own property?
Fuckery afoot??