County Scaling Back One-Stop Help Center
With displaced victims of the recent wildfires moving from the National Orange Show evacuation center back home to the mountains, the county at noon today will scale back the scope of the Fire Emergency Local Assistance Center.
The FELAC, located in the Dome building at the National Orange Show, has served as a one-stop center housing more than 40 county, state, federal, and private agencies offering a wide array of services to help fire victims get back on their feet. The center has offered services ranging from counseling to small business assistance, from social services to property assessment, and from disaster aid to guidance on waste management.
“The FELAC is a truly innovative and unique concept pioneered by the County of San Bernardino during the aftermath of the 2003 wildfires,” said Board of Supervisors Chairman Paul Biane.
“The county established the current FELAC in less than 24 hours while the fires were still raging in our local mountains,” Biane said. “More than 5,000 fire victims have visited the center during the past week, and the services there have played a central role in helping people rebuild their lives.”
Starting at noon today, the FELAC will be converted into a FEMA/OES Disaster Recovery Center (DRC) housing the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the state Office of Emergency Services. The DRC will operate Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
FEMA will also establish a presence in the mountains, and the county as well will locate office space in the mountains from which to offer an array of services for those working to recover from the fires.
The county is also creating a “virtual FELAC” that will be housed on the county website, www.sbcounty.gov. The virtual FELAC will contain the name, description, phone number, and web link for each of the agencies offering services.
Disaster information and assistance continues to be available by calling 211 within the county and 1 (888) 435-7565 from outside the county, or by logging onto the county website, www.sbcounty.gov, and clicking “Disaster Recovery Assistance.”
-- George Watson