SPOKANE COUNTY, Wash. — The U.S. Small Business Administration and FEMA announced that two in-person outreach centers are available for survivors of the Gray and Oregon Road Fire. The centers will open on February 29 at the Country Church of the Open Bible in Elk and at Medical Lake City Hall.
The opening of the centers comes after President Biden declared the fires as major disasters on February 20. The declaration helps to address human loss, physical damage, and economic injury as a result of wildfires that occurred on August 18-25, 2023.
The declaration for Spokane County offers low-interest federal disaster loans to assist businesses, homeowners and renters in Spokane County that may not be insured or may be under-insured as a result of the wildfires.
The deadline to apply for physical damage with SBA is April 20, 2024.
The physical addresses for the centers are:
- Elk Chattaroy Disaster Outreach Center,Country Church of the Open Bible, 40015 North Collins Road, Elk, WA 99009
- Medical Lake Disaster Outreach Center, Medical Lake City Hall, 124 South Lefevre Street, Medical Lake, WA 99022
SBA disaster loans are available to:
- Homeowners for up to $500,000 to replace or repair their primary residence.
- Renters and homeowners up to $100,000 to replace or repair personal property.
- Businesses and nonprofits organizations up to $2 million to cover disaster losses not fully covered by insurance.
The August 2023 Wildfire disaster loan rates are:
- As low as 2.5% for Homeowners
- As low as 4% for Businesses
- As low as 2.375% for Nonprofit organizations
To begin the application process, survivors can do one of the following (If you choose not to visit the in-person Spokane County locations):
- To obtain more information about SBA disaster loans, visit sba.gov/disaster, call the Customer Service Center at 800-659-2955, or send an email to DisasterCustomerService@sba.gov. You can apply online using SBA’s secure website at sba.gov/disaster .
For people who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services.
- Completed applications should be mailed to U.S. Small Business Administration, Processing and Disbursement Center, 14925 Kingsport Road, Fort Worth, TX 76155.
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