Delta Fire Survivors Receive New Homes

In recent years, the North State has made headlines for presidentially declared major disasters such as the Carr and Camp Fires. In addition to an influx of generous donations from all over the world, FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) provided relief to survivors of these fires in the form of funding, temporary housing, and more. Unfortunately the Delta Fire, a 63,000 acre fire that started in Shasta County only five weeks after the Carr Fire began, did not receive the same response.

“Our clients with the Delta Fire are in a unique position. Because it was not the Carr Fire, they did not qualify for some of the state and federal resources that our Carr Fire victims may have qualified for….It’s required a whole lot of effort to find enough funding for these families to build,” said Chad Scott, Executive Director of Shasta Builders’ Exchange. Finding volunteers to make the drive to the rural rebuild locations has also been a challenge.

Scott said that they are still currently working with a couple of clients who are survivors of the 2018 Delta Fire, each with their own unique situation. “One family was insured, they did pay out. They didn’t have enough money to rebuild what they lost. So they will be contributing all the leftover insurance money and we’re going to cover the gap for them to recover.”

Scott joined the NorCal Recovery team to assist with Carr Fire recovery, and two years later he is still playing a major role in helping wildfire survivors recover in the North State. “The role of the Shasta Builders’ Exchange is to operate as a volunteer project manager for these families for the recovery process,” Scott said, “So that could be clearing up titles, processing their [building] permits,...finding enough subcontractors and suppliers for the projects, volunteer coordination, and getting their home finalized and ready to move in.”

“It’s only through the support of local churches and organizations like the United Way that [these families] had any opportunity to rebuild on their site on their own.” As the third anniversary of the Delta Fire approaches, Scott hopes to see their clients moved into new homes where they can make memories with their families

If you would like to contribute to wildfire recovery efforts in the North State, visit NorCalUnited.co/donate.