LOWER LAKE, Calif. – Thanks to a disaster declaration issued earlier this month, the United States Small Business Administration is making available to Clayton fire survivors – individuals, businesses and organizations – low-interest loans to help with the rebuilding process.
The agency's Disaster Loan Outreach Center is operating out of the first floor parlor at the Lower Lake Historic Schoolhouse Museum, 16435 Main St., from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Tuesdays through Saturdays.
“We're offering the same thing we offered last year during the Valley fire,” said SBA spokesman William Koontz.
Koontz visited Lower Lake on Monday, as he and SBA staff fanned out across the state, responding to incidents in Lake, Monterey, San Bernardino and San Luis Obispo counties, and a flood in Ohio.
Koontz said the SBA acted under its own authority to declare the Clayton fire disaster on Sept. 6 in response to a request it received on Sept. 1 from Mark Ghilarducci, director of the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, acting on behalf of Gov. Jerry Brown.
The disaster declaration makes SBA assistance available in Colusa, Glenn, Lake, Mendocino, Napa, Sonoma and Yolo counties, the agency reported.
The process this time around differed from that employed during the Valley fire in that last year the state asked both the SBA and and the Federal Emergency Management Agency to do a damage assessment. President Barack Obama subsequently declared a disaster, which authorized the agencies to offer assistance, Koontz said.
This time, with no presidential disaster proclamation expected, the state asked the SBA to respond and consider the disaster declaration, Koontz said.
Koontz said the SBA has a very simple criteria for making that declaration: If there are 25 homes or businesses damaged in one county, and they have at least 40 percent damage – which is considered major – it's an automatic approval.
The declaration activates the exact same SBA program as was in place during the Valley fire, said Koontz.
The difference is that last year fire survivors first had to apply to FEMA – which is not involved in the Clayton fire response – and then seek out additional help in the form of loans from SBA. If they didn't qualify, they would then be sent back to FEMA for consideration of a grant, Koontz explained.
What's also different for Clayton fire survivors is if they don't qualify for SBA assistance, they won't have FEMA to fall back on but will have to seek assistance from other agencies and organizations, he said.
SBA said businesses of all sizes and private nonprofit organizations may borrow up to $2 million to repair or replace damaged or destroyed real estate, machinery and equipment, inventory and other business assets.
The agency said it also can lend additional funds to businesses and homeowners to help with the cost of improvements to protect, prevent or minimize the same type of disaster damage from occurring in the future.
Disaster loans up to $200,000 are available to homeowners to repair or replace damaged or destroyed real estate. Homeowners and renters are eligible for up to $40,000 to repair or replace damaged or destroyed personal property, the SBA said.
Koontz said the interest rates on the loans change from quarter to quarter.
Interest rates can be as low as 4 percent for businesses, 2.625 percent for private nonprofit organizations and 1.563 percent for homeowners and renters with terms up to 30 years. Koontz said that rate for homeowners is a little lower than it was for the Valley fire, and the lowest he's seen that rate go in some time.
Loan amounts and terms are set by SBA and are based on each applicant’s financial condition. Koontz said every case is considered individually.
“We do our darnedest to try to get their loan through the system, but there will be some people who don't qualify,” he said.
Koontz said it's free to apply, and no appointment is necessary.
He said the SBA has staff who are expert at helping disaster victims, and can quickly lead them through the application process. He said that process can be completed within 30 minutes. “It's very streamlined,” he said, and not unlike getting a bank loan.
Disaster loan information and application forms also are available from SBA’s Customer Service Center by calling 800-659-2955 or emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Individuals who are deaf or hard‑of‑hearing may call 800-877-8339.
Applications can be downloaded at https://www.sba.gov/disaster . Completed applications should be mailed to U.S. Small Business Administration, Processing and Disbursement Center, 14925 Kingsport Road, Fort Worth, TX 76155.
The deadline to apply is Nov. 7, and he encourages fire survivors to turn in applications, explaining they always can turn the loans down later if they don't need them. He pointed out that many people find out later that the recovery process costs more than expected.
“Our program can lend someone who has insurance for the gap that may occur,” he said.
As of Monday, SBA had gotten 11 applications from business and homeowners impacted by the Clayton fire, he said.
Last year, for the Valley fire in Lake County and the Butte fire in Calaveras County, the SBA received a total of 897 applications – 719 for homeowners, 178 for businesses – and issued 287 loans, totaling $25,935,700. That number included 55 business loans totaling $4,499,500 and 232 loans for homeowners amounting to $21,436,200, according to a summary Koontz shared with Lake County News.
Koontz said the SBA does not have a deadline at this point for how long its Lower Lake center will stay open.
“We'll stay as long as there's an interest,” he said.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
