The California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) and Sonoma County have maintained a strong relationship since the 2017 wildfires and have continued building on the coordination and lessons learned following those events, which help facilitate recovery efforts related to the Kincade fire today. 

Immediately following the start of the fire, the Governor secured a Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG) from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to help ensure the availability of firefighting resources. The grant enables local, state and tribal agencies responding to the fire to apply for 75 percent reimbursement of their eligible fire suppression and response costs such as sheltering and evacuations. 

The Governor has also authorized assistance under the California Disaster Assistance Act (CDAA) that will reduce the local cost share for the FMAG to 6.25 percent and provide reimbursement for costs associated with replacing or repairing disaster damaged infrastructure which are not covered by the FMAG.

Cal OES Recovery personnel continue to support Sonoma County by providing extensive long term recovery expertise.

These activities include providing technical assistance related to the removal of Household Hazardous Waste and other structural debris as well as conducting damage assessments and securing Small Business Administration disaster assistance in the form of low cost loans to help businesses and individuals recover.

Cal OES staff will continue to provide technical assistance, knowledge and expertise to help communities maximize disaster funding and speed recovery in the affected areas in the months to come.

Available resources are included below:

The California Disaster Assistance Act (CDAA) program may provide matching fund assistance for cost sharing required under federal public assistance programs in response to a Presidential Major Disaster or Emergency Declaration.

A variety of other assistance programs may also be available following a disaster to assist individuals, households, businesses, private non-profit organizations, and local government agencies and special districts, including:

SBA Loans for Homeowners and Renters – Disaster loans up to $200,000 are available to homeowners to repair or replace damaged or destroyed real estate. Homeowners and renters are eligible for up to $40,000 to repair or replace damaged or destroyed personal property. 

If a Rural area, the USDA Rural Development’s Home Repair Loan and Grant Pilot Program increases the maximum amount of assistance available to very-low-income homeowners, as well as improves access to the program in an effort to better assist those in need. This program helps repair, improve and modernize homes in eligible rural areas. 

The California Department of Tax and Fee Administration offers tax relief for property owners and business affected by the earthquake. 

Tax Relief; Calamity Property Tax Reassessment – Revenue and Taxation Code section 170(a)(1) allows homeowners to apply for reassessment of their property if it has been damaged or destroyed by Governor-declared disaster. The county assessor will immediately reappraise the property to reflect its damaged condition. In addition, when it is rebuilt in a like or similar manner, the property will retain its prior value (Proposition 13) for tax purposes. If a manufactured home is totally destroyed in a Governor-declared disaster, it may be replaced by a comparable unit without an increase in either the property taxes or the vehicle license and registration fees. 

More information is available at http://www.boe.ca.gov/proptaxes/disaster-relief.htm.

A Cal OES Disaster Recovery Assistance and Services Brochure can be found here: https://www.caloes.ca.gov/RecoverySite/Documents/Disaster-Recovery-Assistance-and-Services-Brochure.pdf.