Mountain Views News, Combined Edition Saturday, February 15, 2025

MVNews this week:  Page 6

6

MORE RECOVERY INFO

Mountain View News Saturday, February 15, 2025


FEMA works with private sector vendors to help 
fulfill the response and re-covery needs for disasters 
like the recent Los Angeles County Wildfires.

The Doing Business with FEMA webpage outlines 
the steps that companies and small businesses 
looking to compete for federal contracts should 
take. During response and recovery, FEMA’s goal 
is to contract with local businesses in the affected 
area whenever practical and feasible.

FEMA will only engage with companies through 
the federal procurement process. Business solic-
itations sent to individual members of the FEMA 
workforce will not be processed. The FEMA website 
outlines how companies can see and respond 
to the agency’s solicitations. The key steps to beginning 
the process are: 

 Consult your local procurement center: 
We recommend you consider consulting 
with these Procurement Technical Assistance 
Centers.

 Register with SAM.gov: This is the System 
for Award Management. Entity registra-
tions are free, and registration is 
required to do business with the federal 
government.

 Understand the FEMA mission: FEMA’s 
mission, as authorized by the Robert T. 
Stafford Act, is to help people before, during 
and after disasters.

 Monitor contracting sites for opportunities: 
Contracting sites are listed on FEMA’s 
webpage

Debris removal is often contracted locally after 
a disaster. If your company provides debris re-
moval services, you can sign up with the U.S. 
Army Corps of Engineers Contractor Regis-try. 
You can also register your business information 
(including capabilities and locations served). 

Additional information can be found on our Frequently 
Asked Questions webpage.

 

For the latest information about California’s recovery, 
visit fema.gov/disaster/4856. Follow FE-
MA Region 9 @FEMARegion9 on X or follow 
FEMA on social media at: FEMA Blog on fe-ma.
gov, @FEMA or @FEMAEspanol on X, FEMA or 
FEMA Espanol on Facebook, @FEMA on Instagram, 
and via FEMA YouTube channel.

California is committed to supporting residents 
impacted by the Los Angeles Hurricane-Force 
Firestorm as they navigate the recovery process. 
Visit CA.gov/LAFires for up-to-date information 
on disaster recovery programs, important deadlines, 
and how to apply for assistance.

HOW TO DO BUSINESS WITH FEMA 
AFTER A DISASTER

SBA RELIEF STILL AVAILABLE 
TO CALIFORNIA PRIVATE 
NONPROFITS AFFECTED BY 
JANUARY WILDFIRES 

Deadline to Apply for Business Physical Damage 
Loans Approaching

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The U.S. Small Business 
Administration (SBA) encourages private nonprofit 
(PNP) organizations in California that sustained 
property damage caused by wildfires and 
straight-line winds that began Jan. 7, to apply for 
an SBA disaster loan before the March 17, 2025, 
deadline.

The disaster declaration covers Los Angeles County.

Under the declaration, PNPs that provide non-
critical services of a governmental nature are 
eligible to apply. Examples of eligible non-critical 
PNP organizations include, but are not limited 
to, food kitchens, homeless shelters, museums, libraries, 
community centers, schools, and colleges.

PNP organizations may borrow up to $2 million 
to repair or replace damaged or destroyed real 
estate, machinery and equipment, inventory, and 
other business assets. Interest rates can be as low 
3.625%, with terms up to 30 years. 

Interest does not accrue, and payments are not 
due, until 12 months from the date of the first loan 
dis-bursement. The SBA sets loan amount terms 
based on each applicant’s financial condition.

Applicants may be eligible for a loan amount increase 
of up to 20% of their physical damages, 
as veri-fied by the SBA, for mitigation purposes. 
Eligible mitigation improvements might include 
insulating pipes, walls and attics, weather stripping 
doors and windows, and installing storm 
windows to help pro-tect property and occupants 
from future damage caused by any disaster. 

The SBA also offers Economic Injury Disaster 
Loans (EIDLs) to help meet working capital 
needs. The loans may be used to pay fixed debts, 
payroll, accounts payable, and other bills that 
could have been paid had the disaster not occurred. 
EIDL assistance is available regardless of 
whether the PNP suffered any physical property 
damage. 

 

The SBA encourages applicants to submit their 
loan applications promptly. Applications will be 
priori-tized in the order they are received, and 
the SBA remains committed to processing them 
as efficiently as possible. 

To apply online, visit SBA.gov/disaster. Applicants 
may also call SBA’s Customer Service 
Center at (800) 659-2955 or email disastercustomerservice@
sba.gov for more information on 
SBA disaster assis-tance. For people who are deaf, 
hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please 
dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay 
services.

The deadline to return applications for physical 
property damage is March 17. The deadline to return 
economic injury applications is Oct. 15

FEMA Rental Assistance is available for those 
affected by the Los Angeles County Wildfires; 
new applications will be accepted until March 
10. Rental Assistance may pay up to two 
months rent, with incremental three-month 
extensions. Visit a FEMA Disaster Re-covery 
Center in Los Angeles County open daily from 
9 a.m. to 7 p.m., call 1 800-621-3362 or visit 
Dis-asterAssistance.gov to apply today.

USPS UPDATE ON SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA OPERATIONS 

as of February 7, 2025

 The wildfires burning in Southern California are a catastrophic disaster, disrupting services and operations 
for many organizations – including the Postal Service’s ability to deliver mail and packages 
– across the Los Angeles region. During this time, the Postal Service's primary focus is to maintain 
the safety and security of our employees, while ensuring that customers affected by the ‘California 
Wildfires’ receive their mail and packages as swiftly as possible. 

The Postal Service operations team continues to work around the clock to restore operations wherever 
safe to do so. USPS is committed to delivering mail safely and where allowable, constantly 
adjusting our operations for a swift restoration of services in impacted areas. The full recovery of 
service to the impacted areas may stretch forward for some time. 

Effective February 10, 2025, customer pick up hours for packages and letters have been adjusted at 
the Pasadena and the Rancho Park Post Offices. 

Customers interested in submitting an Official Mail Forwarding Change of Address Order to reroute 
their mail, including packages and letters, may complete the process online at https://moversguide.
usps.com/ or by filling out a PS Form 3575, Change of Address, available at any post office. 

 

Facility

Mail Pickup Location

Altadena Post Office

2271 Lake Avenue

Altadena, CA 91001 - 9998

Pasadena Post Office

600 Lincoln Avenue

Pasadena, CA 91109-9998

Mon – Fri: 9 am – 6 pm

Sat: 9 am – 3 pm

Altadena Customer Pickup Hours:

Mon - Fri: 10 am – 5 pm

Sat: 10 am – 3 pm


Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com