Little Bear Fire victims won't get help from FEMA

Owners of property damaged or destroyed by last month's Little Bear Fire will not find any help from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. That message was sounded again Thursday, this time by Ruidoso Special Projects Manager Justin King, who is part of a team that has responded to the flood threat following the fire. "It's come to our attention that there's some homeowners still talking and asking about FEMA assistance," King, the special projects manager for the village of Ruidoso, told the Lincoln County Watershed Restoration and Protection Group. "FEMA is not going to do an Individual Assistance program for Lincoln County, the village of Ruidoso, city of Alamogordo. We do not meet the threshold." The key factor in missing the threshold for Individual Assistance was the low number of uninsured, primary residences. "They've gone through. They've done their assessment on it. We're only about 165 homes short of meeting that threshold." There were nine primary residences destroyed in the Little Bear Fire that were uninsured. And second homes do not qualify for FEMA's Individual Assistance program. Even if the program had applied in the fire area, FEMA's assistance is minimal. "So if you hear individuals, or homeowners, or property owners talking about FEMA still coming in on a white horse to save the day, it isn't going to happen." King said there are other programs available to help those who lost property...more