Skip to Content

Most Oregonians who applied for wildfire disaster aid were denied

Detroit Mayor Jim Trett, Federal Coordinating Officer Dolph Diemont and Rep. Kurt Schrader tour fire-ravaged community on Saturday, Sept. 19, 2020.
Oregon Office of Emergency Management
Detroit Mayor Jim Trett, Federal Coordinating Officer Dolph Diemont and Rep. Kurt Schrader tour fire-ravaged community on Saturday, Sept. 19, 2020.

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — More than 24,000 Oregonians applied for federal disaster assistance after the catastrophic 2020 wildfires and about 57% of them were denied.

Oregon Public Broadcasting reports that nearly 14,000 Oregonians have been denied aid, according to data provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.  

Oregon’s high rates of denial are on par with previous natural disasters. FEMA denied about 60% of Puerto Rican disaster assistance applicants after Hurricane Maria.

A study by Texas Hausers, a housing nonprofit, found that FEMA denied a quarter of disaster applicants after Hurricane Harvey hit there.

Following Oregon’s wildfires, FEMA issued press releases encouraging people to appeal. They said the appeals process could be as simple as correcting a typo or providing a missing document.

Read more at: https://apnews.com/article/wildfires-hurricane-harvey-oregon-natural-disasters-fires-23a475a06a12fd1e19488e22f66d4d63

Article Topic Follows: Government-politics

Jump to comments ↓

The Associated Press

BE PART OF THE CONVERSATION

KTVZ NewsChannel 21 is committed to providing a forum for civil and constructive conversation.

Please keep your comments respectful and relevant. You can review our Community Guidelines by clicking here

If you would like to share a story idea, please submit it here.

Skip to content