THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
(Cartagena, Colombia)
____________________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release
August 30, 2000
PRESIDENT CLINTON DECLARES A MAJOR DISASTER EXISTS IN THE STATE OF MONTANA
The President today declared a major disaster exists in the State of
Montana and ordered Federal aid to supplement state and local recovery
efforts in the area struck by wildfires on July 13, 2000 and continuing.
The President's action makes Federal funding available to affected
individuals in a 28 county area. The counties include Beaverhead,
Broadwater, Carbon, Cascade, Deer Lodge, Flathead, Gallatin, Glacier,
Granite, Jefferson, Judith Basin, Lake, Lewis and Clark, Lincoln, Madison,
Meagher, Mineral, Missoula, Park, Pondera, Powell, Ravalli, Sanders, Silver
Bow, Stillwater, Sweet Grass, Teton, and Wheatland and the Flathead Indian
Reservation and the Blackfeet Indian Reservation.
Assistance can include disaster housing, grants, low-cost loans to
cover uninsured property losses, and other programs to help individuals and
business owners recover from the effects of the disaster.
Federal funding is also available on a cost share basis for hazard
mitigation measures.
James L. Witt, Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency
(FEMA), named Carlos Mitchell as the Federal Coordinating Officer for
Federal recovery operations in the affected area.
The Agency said that damage surveys are continuing in other areas, and
additional assistance and counties may be added after the assessments are
completed.
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