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Boulder County Moves Marshall Fire Assistance Online; FEMA Remains In Person

LAFAYETTE, Colo. (CBS4) - Boulder County will continue to assist those impacted by the Marshall Fire despite the closure of its in person Disaster Assistance Center. All resources are now available online.

"Most of these organizations are going to able to do exactly what they're doing and then some because the services are going to be available from the vantage point of where they normally do their work," said Jim Williams. "That is one of the pieces that we want people to understand, nothing is going away here."

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Williams is the Communications Director for Boulder County's Housing and Services department.

"We've provided well over $5 million in assistance for folks," he said, noting it was all thanks to donors, the Boulder Community Foundation and Elevations Credit Union.

CBS4 visited the Disaster Assistance Center when it opened Jan. 3, and since, it has helped more than 2,000 households with everything from mental health needs to housing and childcare.

"All of the services that have been here at the disaster assistance center in Lafayette will continue online, and we want people to go there, find out what's available, register for help," he said.

While the county's resources will now be available online, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) will be around to help indefinitely.

"FEMA will stay with all their services, there is no end date," said Rossyveth Rey, FEMA's Media Relations Specialist.

FEMA and the SBA have been operating out of the same facility as the disaster assistance center in Lafayette. Federal agencies have provided more than $43.6 million in grants and loans to assist in recovery as of Jan. 20, 2022.

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FEMA says it has approved $802,354 through the Individuals and Households program, consisting of $679,540.95 in Housing Assistance for home repairs and rental expenses, and $122,813.35 in Other Needs Assistance for repair or replacement of personal property, vehicle repair or replacement, moving expenses and other disaster-related needs.

FEMA's Mitigation Community Education & Outreach team has also been providing mitigation advice to community members affected by the Marshall Fire and straight-line wind event.

Topics covered include home repair, ignition resistant construction, wind resistant construction, putting together supply kits, and hiring a contractor. Mitigation specialists are located at the Disaster Recovery Center in Lafayette and also will be visiting local home improvement stores.

From Thursday, Jan. 20 through Tuesday, Jan. 25 the team will be at McGuckin Hardware located at 2525 Arapahoe Ave., Boulder, Colorado.

In the coming weeks, outreach will continue at additional local home improvement stores, below:

  • Thursday, Jan. 27 – Tuesday, Feb. 1: Home Depot, 1600 29th St, Boulder, Colorado
  • Thursday, Feb. 3 – Tuesday, Feb. 8: Lowe's, 1171 Dillon Rd, Louisville, Colorado
  • Thursday, Feb. 10 – Tuesday, Feb. 15: Home Depot, 393 S Hover Rd, Longmont, Colorado
  • Thursday, Feb. 17 – Tuesday, Feb. 22: Lowe's, 355 Ken Pratt Blvd, Longmont, Colorado
  • Thursday, Feb. 25 – Tuesday, March 1: Ace Hardware, 1727 Main St, Longmont, Colorado.

Boulder County residents who would like to apply for assistance or check on their application by going online, or visiting the Disaster Recovery Center at 1755 S. Public Road in Lafayette. Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.

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