OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) —Governor Mary Fallin is asking the Federal Emergency Management Agency to reconsider its decision to deny individual assistance to victims of wildfires that swept across the state last month.
Fallin filed a formal appeal on Thursday on behalf of wildfire victims in Oklahoma, Cleveland and Payne counties.
Wildfires in July and August damaged nearly 300 homes in those three counties, including 270 that were destroyed. Fallin says an estimated 85 percent of those homes were uninsured.
Fallin noted that FEMA granted an individual assistance declaration for a fire in Creek County on August 22nd, but denied assistance for victims in three other counties.
If FEMA reverses its decision, home and business owners in the affected counties would be eligible for assistance with housing repairs or temporary housing.