More than 1,000 Survivors of the California Blaze Get Temporary Shelter in Manufactured Homes
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is turning to manufactured housing for Camp Fire survivors in need of temporary housing.
FEMA is providing RVs and manufactured homes for 678 households (1,097 people) in five locations in California’s Butte County.
The one-, two- and three-bedroom units will be temporary housing. Infrastructure at the five locations is in the final stages and awaiting inspection. However, FEMA anticipates a mid-May move-in date for those residents, according to Rebecca Kelly, a media relations specialist with FEMA.
Shelter for Survivors of Deadly California Wildfire
The Camp Fire, one of several deadly wildfires to hit California in 2018, engulfed more than 150,000 acres in Butte County last November. The fire killed 86 people, and destroyed nearly 14,000 residences. It left thousands of Californians homeless, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
More than 90 percent of those left homeless by the Camp Fire have found more permanent housing solutions by now. The remainder will use the temporary manufactured housing locations in Butte County.
The temporary communities will last no more than 18 months, the duration of FEMA’s lease agreements with the landowners. Survivors who will reside there already are working with FEMA personnel to find long-term housing, Kelly said.
FEMA purchased the manufactured housing units from agency-approved manufacturers. FEMA is providing refrigerators and stoves for the units, but not washers and dryers. Cable and internet services must be provided by residents, according to the agency.
Up to this point, many of the remaining Camp Fire survivors have been living in hotels and motels. The manufactured home units are another step on the road to recovery, Kelly said.
“We’re making great strides every day,” she said.
