El Dorado County supervisor asks Trump for more help for Caldor Fire victims
GRIZZLY FLATS — An El Dorado County supervisor sent a letter to President-elect Donald Trump asking for him not to let the federal government forget Caldor Fire victims in Grizzly Flats.
George Turnboo, who oversees county District 2, is calling on Trump to visit Grizzly Flats and the Caldor Fire burn zone and reverse the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) decision to deny individual assistance there.
FEMA also denied Governor Gavin Newsom's appeal to the decision to deny individual assistance.
"I just feel that we were kind of forgotten," Turnboo said.
FEMA did not respond to CBS13's request for an explanation. In a statement to CBS13 in 2022, FEMA wrote:
"Based on documentation provided by the state and collected in our joint preliminary damage assessments, the agency determined that the impact to individuals and households from the Caldor Fire was not of such severity and magnitude to warrant the designation of the Individual Assistance program."
"I sent letters to all the United States Senators, and I didn't get any response at all," Turnboo said.
R.W. Mac MacNeil lives in Grizzly Flats. His letters have a return address there but he still has no home.
"The old town is gone, MacNeil said.
MacNeil lives in one of the trailers dotting this barren Grizzly Flats landscape. His application for FEMA individual assistance was denied along with everyone else in this small community.
"Now that we have the Southern Cal fire, for one thing, we're relevant again, and I hate to say it but some people are saying now that rich people got burned we're seeing talk about making changes," MacNeil said.
According to California's Office of Emergency Services Director Nancy Ward, the individual assistance denial could still be overturned by FEMA, and Congress could also write a bill allocating recovery money for this community.
