Yavapai County issued two Certificates of Occupancy this week for two houses for uninsured residents who lost their homes in the Yarnell Hill Fire. These were the last of nine homes to be built or installed by the Yarnell Hill Recovery Group in just nine months since residents returned to their homes after the Yarnell Hill Fire. Their completion marks the end of Phase I of the recovery efforts.
To date, Yavapai County has issued 31 building permits for homes, representing approximately one-quarter of the homes that were lost. An additional 31 building permits have been issued for outbuildings, electrical upgrades or related construction projects. The permits are one among many signs of steady progress in Yarnell’s recovery.
A “Community Information Center” has been established as an AmeriCorps Project, with a grant from Church World Services. The new information and referral service, housed at the Yarnell Community Presbyterian Church, is designed to bridge the information gap for residents who do not use the internet, or who are homebound.
The “one-stop-shopping” place for news and updates of available services provides regular office hours and/or phone service five days a week. Center Coordinator Trish Edwards is a resident of Glen Ilah, the subdivision of Yarnell that was hardest hit by the fire. Edwards will be developing an information database and a team of volunteers to help staff the center, which can be reached at (928) 277-6674 or infoonthehill@gmail.com.
With the conclusion of Phase I, cases in Phase II, the underinsured, are now being reviewed. So far, the YHRG Steering Committee has reviewed two of the 36 cases that have been opened with the Arizona Division of Emergency Management, where the files are vetted.
The submissions contain no identification, so the Committee’s “blind” decision are based on the merits of the needs and resources available. All of the underinsured households that registered with the state recently received cash donations of $3,500 per household from the United Way of Yavapai County.
Additional funds have been set aside in the YHRG budget, up to a total of $10,000 per household (which includes cash contributions, or goods donated to address the gap between insured coverage and rebuilding.)
In the near future, the YHRG will begin drafting the guidelines for Phase III – unmet needs, including those of tenants, and owners of secondary homes.
A strategic plan for Yarnell’s recovery, which addresses both the immediate recovery needs, as well as long-term, sustainable growth for the community, has been in development stages for several months. A preliminary plan, submitted by the YHRG to the Yavapai County Community Foundation (YCCF) in October, allowed the release of just over $400,000, three-quarters of which went into the homes for the uninsured.
Additional funds were distributed to the Yarnell Public Library, the Yarnell Community Center, Peeple’s Valley Fire Department, Yarnell Fire Department, and the Yarnell Water Improvement Association. Based on input from several community forums, the initial Strategic Plan will be expanded and action groups identified at a Community Forum onSaturday, March 22. This step is required for the next release of funds from the YCCF.
As the building for Phase I has drawn to a close, the Steering Committee of YHRG will also transition. Bob Brandon, Director of Reconstruction, will be stepping down. Linda Ma, chair of the Volunteer Committee, will step into a new role on the Steering Committee to help identify and assess more precisely ongoing unmet needs and ways to meet those needs.
About Yarnell Hill Recovery Group
Exiled from their homes and divided by the closure of Highway 89, a group of 20 Yarnell and Peeples Valley residents conferred in person and by phone about how to rebuild their fire-ravaged community.
Out of that conversation, the all-volunteer Yarnell Hill Recovery Group was formed with a steering committee made up of five key leaders representing organizations that have long provided services to residents: the Yarnell-Peeples Valley Chamber of Commerce, the Yarnell Community Center, the Yarnell Community Presbyterian Church, the Peeples Valley Fire Department and Weaver Mountains – People Who Care.
Under the direction of the steering committee, a dozen volunteer sub-committees were formed to provide resources for everything from emergency housing and financial assistance to clean up and rebuilding. The group’s website,www.YarnellHillRecoveryGroup.
The group has been recognized by Arizona and Yavapai County as the official recovery group for the Yarnell Hill Fire.
The Yarnell Community Presbyterian Church, acting as the Yarnell Hill Recovery Group’s fiscal agent, has set up an account for the Yarnell Hill Recovery Group though the National Bank of Arizona, account #76 0000 2730, Routing #122105320. There is a Pay Pal button for donations at www.YarnellHillRecoveryGroup.
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