Fire Incident Overview
The lightning-caused Castle and Shotgun Fires were discovered on August 19, 2020, and later managed as one incident named the SQF Complex. The Castle Fire burned on portions of the Sequoia National Forest and Giant Sequoia National Monument (131,087acres), Inyo National Forest (12,508 acres), Sequoia National Park (18,984 acres), lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management (736 acres), State (4,017 acres), County, and private lands (4,004 acres) and threatened the Tule River Indian Reservation.
Immediate Assistance is Provided for Victims
Tulare County was added to an earlier FEMA disaster declaration, allowing residents with damage from the wildfires to apply for financial assistance that may include rent, home repair, home replacement, and other disaster-related needs such as childcare, medical and dental expenses.
Damage Assessment
Damage inspection has been completed on 189 parcels for structures lost in the SQF Complex Fire. The final numbers are 10 single residences damaged, and 173 destroyed 2 other minor structures damaged, and 55 destroyed.
Consolidated Debris Removal Program
The State’s Consolidated Debris Removal Program consists of two phases. As Phase One wraps up, which is the removal of hazardous household materials, and now moves into Phase Two, which removes the remaining contaminated debris, the property owner becomes a critical part of the process.
Right-of-Entry (ROE) Form
For those who have yet to sign up for the opt-in Consolidated Debris Removal Program, they have until February 15, 2021, to sign up for this no-cost program. Survivors can participate by filling out a Right-of-Entry (ROE) form, which grants state-contracted work crews access to their property. Before the debris removal can start, property owners must submit an ROE form to their county.
Reconstruction & Repopulation
As our mountain communities recover from the unprecedented wildfire disaster, it is our top priority to help those affected with the rebuilding process. To expedite recovery and rebuilding and to ensure that displaced persons are housed in safe, healthy, and inhabitable housing during the recovery period, the county adopted the SQF Complex Fire Disaster Recovery Ordinance.
State Debris Operations Dashboard
The Calfornia Debris Operations Dashboard for the 2020 statewide wildfires is updated every hour and provides users with the ability to sort by branch or county via the filters at the top of the page. Users can also search by address via the magnifying glass icon at the top of the map to learn of the debris removal status of their property.