October 27, 2020 3:45 a.m.

Information from the Federal Emergency Management Agency said residents who live in and around areas impacted by the recent wildfires, face an increased risk of flooding, for up to several years after a wildfire.

Nate Custer of FEMA said its important those residents consider purchasing flood insurance now. Custer said it takes 30 days after applying for a new National Flood Insurance Program insurance policy to go in effect, however there are exceptions:

Under the Post-Wildfire Exception, the standard 30-day waiting period does not apply to new policies if:

*The covered property experiences damage caused by a flood that originated on federal land.

*Post-wildfire conditions on federal lands caused or worsened the flooding; and

*The policyholder purchased the policy either:

*Before the fire containment date: or

*During the 60-calendar-day period following the fire containment date.

Those with questions pertaining to flood insurance should email the FEMA Region 10 mailbox at: fema-r10-mit@fema.dhs.gov to get answers.

Custer said FEMA has received disaster assistance applications from over 22,000 individuals. It has awarded over $22 million to eligible survivors affected by the Oregon wildfires.

FEMA External Outreach Sites are open Mondays through Saturdays from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. to accommodate survivors as they seek information about their applications, ask questions and have their documents scanned into a case file. Survivors have until November 16th to apply for FEMA disaster assistance. A FEMA EOS site is at the old Glide Middle School gym.