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While The Federal Emergency Management Agency and The California Governor's Office of Emergency Services are still working on setting up temporary housing for displaced evacuees, some survivors of the Camp Fire are fighting back against officials’ urges to find housing at local shelters.
These survivors say they cannot go to shelters because they have animals that they do not want to be separated from after the traumatic wildfires.
According to Public Information Officer at Butte County Casey Hatcher, the choice to prohibit pets from local human shelters is due to health and safety concerns.
“For the safety of everyone in the shelter, only service dogs will be allowed inside,” Hatcher said.
Butte County officials recognize that people want to be near to their pets. That is why Hatcher says, in this circumstance, the animal shelters are quite close to the human shelters. This allows pet owners to have access to their furry friends throughout the recovery process.
FEMA will soon be providing trailers and RVs to survivors who are in need, which will alleviate some of these issues. These trailers will accommodate people with animals.
“As far as the housing units that FEMA will be providing for survivors, yes, household pets will be allowed to enter those housing units with the family members,” said Public Affairs Officer for FEMA Michael Hart.
Even so, there are still survivors who need shelter now, but struggle to find places for themselves and their pets at local evacuation shelters. Luckily, there are some alternative options for people in this situation.
Check to see if you are eligible for Transitional Sheltering Assistance, a program that allows FEMA to pay hotels and motels directly to shelter Camp Fire survivors while they transition to more permanent housing.
This FEMA post on Facebook explains the steps that survivors should take to secure temporary housing through the TSA program:
FEMA has released an Evacuee Hotel List, that includes hotels and motels participating in the program across California. Many of these hotels accommodate pets, though some require an extra fee. There are several pet-friendly participating hotels near Butte County in particular, including in Oroville, Sacramento, and Yuba City.
At CampFireHousing.org, survivors can check listings for people volunteering space and shelter for those in need. At this website, survivors with pets can find available housing that will allow them to bring their animals with them.
There is also an American Red Cross shelter at the Yuba-Sutter Fairgrounds at 442 Franklin Ave. in Yuba City that allows survivors to bring their pets, though it can only accommodate about 100 people. The evacuation site has food and other supplies for pets, as well as for evacuees.
To find out if you are eligible for Transitional Sheltering Assistance, register at DisasterAssistance.gov or call 800-621-3362. Remember to make sure your mailing address, banking account information, and telephone numbers are all up-to-date in your application. If you forgot to provide this information or your details have changed since you registered, let FEMA know directly.
For more on the Camp Fire recovery process, check out the video below: