A workshop is planned Thursday for victims of the Silver and Mountain fires at Beaumont Civic Center, according to officials with the Riverside County Fire Department, Office of Emergency Services.
The blazes in August and July combined to destroy 71 structures including 33 homes, scorched more than 70 square miles of mountain watersheds, and cost firefighting and other agencies more than $35 million, according to Cal Fire and the Forest Service.
Here's info from the county announcement:
A community workshop for people who suffered losses to homes or personal property in the recent Silver and Mountain fires will be held Thursday Aug. 29 at Beaumont Civic Center.
The meeting, scheduled in cooperation with Supervisors Jeff Stone and Marion Ashley, follows the Board of Supervisors decision last week to help fire victims by waiving many county permit and development fees, as well as landfill fees for cleanup of affected properties.
The Board also agreed to fast-track county approvals for those who are rebuilding.
Members of the public who suffered losses in the fires are urged to attend the meeting, scheduled from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Beaumont Civic Center, 550 E. Sixth St.
County officials will be on hand to provide information about possible assistance and to answer residents' and property owners' questions.
The Mountain Fire started July 15 on private property near Highway 243 and Highway 74 in Mountain Center. It burned 27,531 acres and destroyed seven homes and 12 other structures. The Silver Fire started Aug. 7 and burned more than 20,292 acres before it was contained. The blaze destroyed 26 homes and damaged more than 25 other structures.
A report that the Board of Supervisors received last Tuesday Aug. 20 noted that some property owners devastated by the fires might lack insurance, or have insufficient coverage, to afford the county permits needed to rebuild.
For more info about the meeting, call the Riverside County Fire Department, Office of Emergency Services at (951) 955-4700.
VIDEO: Silver Fire Survivors Recall Leaving as Flames Approached
Silver Fire Survivor on 243: 'It Would Be Nice if They Would Open it Up'
SILVER FIRE RECOVERY: In Devastated Poppet Flats, Neighbors Pull Together
VIDEO: As Silver Fire Advances Evacuee Says 'We Decided to Leave on Our Own'
Video, Pics: Silver Fire South of Banning
MOUNTAIN FIRE: Some Residents Stay, but Most of Idyllwild is 'Ghost Town'
VIDEO: Idyllwild Fire Chief Discusses Evacuations, Mountain Fire Threat
MOUNTAIN FIRE PHOTOS: Property Damage, Watershed Damage, Firefighters, Pilots
Cause of Mountain Fire Determined, Electrical Equipment to Blame
See Banning-Beaumont Patch, Redlands-Loma Linda Patch and Palm Desert Patch for more previous coverage of the Silver and Mountain fires.
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