SBA outreach centers to close May 2 in Texas Panhandle

The deadline is coming up to apply for some of the wildfire recovery aid through the Small Business Adminstration (SBA), as the three outreach centers in Borger, Canadian and Fritch are set to close this week.

According to a news release, Francisco Sánchez Jr., associate administrator for the Office of Disaster Recovery and Resilience at SBA, announced April 26 that SBA will close its Disaster Loan Outreach Centers in Borger, Canadian and Fritch on Thursday, May 2.

“SBA opened the centers to provide personalized assistance to Texas businesses and residents who were affected by the Smokehouse Creek Fire and the Windy Deuce Fire that occurred on February 26. Until the centers closes, SBA customer service representatives will continue to be available to meet with businesses and residents to answer their questions, explain SBA’s disaster loan program and close their approved disaster loans,” said Sánchez in the release.

The deadline to apply for declarations for property damage is May 13, and the deadline to apply for economic injury is Dec. 13.

The three Texas Panhandle outreach centers, located at the Hemphill County Courthouse, Room 202, 400 Main St. in Canadian; Disaster Loan Outreach Center at Celebration Family Church, West Room, 811 E Broadway St. in Fritch; and Dome Civic & Convention Center, Nutrien Conference Room, 1113 Bulldog Blvd. in Borger; will remain open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday. The centers originally opened for assistance in March.

Businesses and residents can meet with SBA representatives at the centers for the remainder of the open time, and no appointment is necessary.

Applicants may also apply online and find more information at SBA.gov/disaster . They can also call SBA’s Customer Service Center at (800) 659-2955 or email disastercustomerservice@sba.gov .

Businesses of all sizes and private nonprofit organizations may borrow up to $2 million to repair or replace damaged or destroyed real estate, equipment and other business assets. Disaster loans up to $500,000 are available to homeowners to repair or replace damaged or destroyed real estate. Homeowners and renters are eligible for up to $100,000 in loans to repair or replace damaged or destroyed personal property, including personal vehicles. SBA offers Economic Injury Disaster Loans to help meet working capital needs caused by the disaster for small businesses and organizations.

Governor renews wildfire disaster proclamation

In addition, on Saturday, April 27, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott renewed the Wildfire Disaster Proclamation originally issued Feb. 27. The renewed proclamation noted that the Texas Division of Emergency Management has confirmed that the same wildfire conditions continue to exist in these counties in Texas, including those impacted by the wildfires that began Feb. 23.

The counties included in the April proclamation are Archer, Armstrong, Bailey, Baylor, Briscoe, Carson, Castro, Childress, Cochran, Collingsworth, Cottle, Crosby, Dallam, Deaf Smith, Dickens, Donley, Fannin, Floyd, Foard, Garza, Gray, Gregg, Hale, Hall, Hansford, Hardeman, Harrison, Hartley, Haskell, Hemphill, Hockley, Hutchinson, Kent, King, Knox, Lamb, Lipscomb, Lubbock, Lynn, Moore, Motley, Nacogdoches, Newton, Ochiltree, Oldham, Parmer, Potter, Randall, Roberts, Sherman, Stonewall, Swisher, Terry, Throckmorton, Upshur, Wheeler, Wichita, Wilbarger, Yoakum, and Young.

Via the proclamation, Abbott authorized the continued use of all available resources of state government and of political subdivisions that are reasonably necessary to cope with the disaster, as well as the temporary suspension of regulatory statutes or rules that would impact recovery response.

This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: SBA outreach centers to close May 2 in Texas Panhandle