Officials tour damage left behind by Reno wildfire
Local officials in Nevada met with damage assessment workers from both the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the U.S. Small Business Administration to review the damage caused by the Washoe wildfire near Reno that left many families homeless.
Together, the group reviewed damage estimates from both the state, local and federal levels to make it easier to request whatever assistance was available, the Reno Gazette-Journal reports. They also examined what property damage might be covered under residents' homeowners insurance.
Aaron Kenniston, emergency management coordinator for Washoe County, told the paper that the session would help determine what aid the area might receive. Officials called the damage startling.
"It makes you wonder sometimes, scratch your head," FEMA spokesman Casey De Shong told the paper. "It was very striking when you see a home that's completely destroyed and there's nothing left but a foundation. That's someone's life, someone's livelihood."
The massive wildfire, which officials say was started by one resident's improper disposal of ashes, destroyed 29 homes and scorched roughly 3,000 acres of land.
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