FEMA arrives in Iron County

HURLEY - Town, county and state officials gathered at the Iron County Forestry and Highway building Tuesday morning to meet with representatives from the Federal Emergency Management Agency regarding the cost of damages from the heavy rains and flooding that hit the region earlier this month.

The meeting began with preliminary damage assessments of the various road washouts and damage to Saxon Harbor, before the group travelled to a number of storm-damaged sites - including the harbor - to see the situation on the ground.

One of the primary purposes of the visit was to reach a consensus regarding repair costs to determine what would be eligible for FEMA funds should President Obama issue a federal disaster declaration.

"What we're really trying to do is, we're trying to make sure that everyone sees the damage and agrees to how much that's going to cost (to repair)," said Tod Pritchard, the emergency preparedness coordinator with the Wisconsin Department of Military Affairs. "So we're all on the same page, that's the goal. To make sure (the department of transportation), FEMA, Wisconsin Emergency Management, that bridge is going to cost $10,000 to fix."

While the numbers are very preliminary and still need to be narrowed down in the coming weeks, Iron County Emergency Management Director Stacy Ofstad reported at Tuesday's county board meeting it appeared there was roughly a total of $14,171,720 in damage in the county - of which Ofstad said FEMA would cover roughly $10,921,720.

Of these figures, the rebuilding of Saxon Harbor is projected to be $10,271,000.

A majority of the remaining costs would be covered by other programs, such as the Federal Highway Department's emergency repair programs.

While there is no set threshold the county needs to hit to qualify for FEMA assistance, the agency steps in when the repair costs exceed local capabilities.

"Once it's above that level, especially financially, that's when the federal government - if that presidential disaster declaration is declared - can provide some support for the locals," said FEMA's Troy Christensen, an external affairs officer traveling with the FEMA representatives.

While the timetable for FEMA completing its work and the decision on issuing a federal declaration remain somewhat uncertain, Ofstad reported to the county board the preliminary damage assessments are tentatively scheduled to be completed by Aug. 5.

According to Christensen, the group visiting Iron County won't travel to Michigan to see some of the damage in Gogebic County as Gov. Rick Snyder would have to request the regional FEMA office conduct joint damage assessments for the group to do work across the boarder.