Recovery

The total estimated loss for the county from the September storm is $15,370,722.58, said County Emergency Management Administrator Jeff Bathke. In 90 sites FEMA visited in person, the estimated loss was $9.5 million.

A defendant got over $26,000 for a travel trailer that burned in the fire. He claimed to live in Paradise, but investigators later found he lived in Chico. The fire lasted 18 days, burned 153,336 acres and destroyed 13,972 homes.

The $2 million funding round comes through FEMA's Public Assistance program and will reimburse New Bern for work to restore electricity after the hurricane, including replacing damaged utility poles and transformers.

Lawyers representing wildfire survivors are objecting to FEMA’s claims in U.S. Bankruptcy Court, arguing the federal agency’s effort to seek compensation undermines FEMA’s very mission to assist disaster victims.

The biggest issue keeping counties from getting a federal public assistance declaration is a FEMA rule that won’t pay for damages to buildings that were covered in previous storms. That brings seven counties below the threshold.

In most of the U. S., particularly along the Mississippi River, it would cost taxpayers less to buy and conserve vacant land in floodplains now than to pay federal insurance claims and recovery funds over the next 30-100 years.

As fires have grown increasingly destructive, the state has seen a corresponding exodus of insurers from the hardest-hit areas. More homeowners are having to resort to the FAIR Plan, a form of insurance of last resort.

The team sees an average of eight to 10 gravely injured patients a day — about 3,000 per year. And last month, the team sprang into action when two Worcester firefighters were rushed to the trauma center from a blaze.

According to the state, more than 10,500 damage claims were filed with the federal government after the magnitude 7.1 quake in November 2018. One official estimates the total state and federal assistance will top $275 million.

The On-Site Academy, a nonprofit residential treatment and training center in Westminster for critical-incident stress management, serves emergency service workers who are in distress in Massachusetts.

Many living here own their homes but don’t have resources to rebuild. Much of the area remains in shambles, a result of damage that exceeds property values, owners who don’t have insurance or federal aid that’s been denied.

Two senators announced they would introduce legislation in the regular 2020 General Assembly session to expand workers’ compensation coverage for emergency medical personnel, dispatchers and state prison guards.

In the reimbursement process, FEMA first releases funds to the state as it conducts a partial review of a municipality’s submission. Once the money goes to the state, the state starts its own review process before it releases any of the money to a municipality.

Connecticut legislators are working to extend workers’ compensation coverage for post-traumatic stress disorder. Lawmakers now look to cover emergency medical personnel, dispatchers and state prison guards.

While the Kincade fire wasn't nearly as destructive as the 2017 North Bay fires, it affected more families because the widespread county evacuations forced many businesses to close for up to a week, local charities said.