Those who had homes destroyed or damaged in the Dixie Fire have more time to sign up for government-sponsored debris removal than they might have thought.
The county has been recommending that those opting for the “Right of Entry Program” submit by Friday the required forms needed to allow government contractors to access their property.
However, Director of the Disaster Recovery Operations Center for Plumas County, Dennis Schmidt, told the county’s Board of Supervisors Tuesday, that the final deadline to submit the forms is Nov. 15. This longer deadline was put in place by the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services.
The county’s October recommended deadline was created to ensure residents submit their forms and get cleanup underway before stormy weather possibly hits Plumas County and hampers debris removal efforts, Schmidt said.
“We didn’t want everyone to wait until Nov. 15 because it’s going to be raining and possibly snowing and we may not be able to get any, very local cleanup done for winter if we wait that long,” Schmidt said.
The county hopes residents will get the forms submitted in the next few days, Schmidt said.
“There’s a good chance — in a couple, three weeks, the first part of November — we can get an awful lot of work done,” Schmidt said.
The “Right of Entry Program” is free to those who are eligible, but residents can also hire their own licensed contractor to remove fire debris by choosing a second option called the “Alternative Program.”
Property owners who had a structure destroyed that was 120 square feet or less are considered “exempt properties” and are not required — or eligible — to enroll in either program.
