FEMA administrator urges North Bay Fire victims to register for relief

SANTA ROSA, Calif. (KGO) -- Hundreds of North Bay fire survivors line-up for help at the Local Assistance Center on Mendocino Avenue in Santa Rosa. The agency's administrator, Brock Long, urged people to register for relief.

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"I need to get a passport and I need to sign up for FEMA," said fire survivor Terry Stuart.

Volunteers hand out food, water, even stuffed animals. A new Mickey brightens 4-year-old Eddie Serrano's day. While clutching the doll he said, "He's special, somebody gave him to me."

Amber McCarthey and son Eddie stopped in to research relief options.

"Got little people that need to get back to life huh?" she said "Yeah," replied Eddie.

They escaped the Coffey Park neighborhood. It's an example of the toxic clean-up that needs to take place says CAL Fire Director Ken Pimlott.

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"Houses are full of all kinds of different chemicals. When they burn they leave a lot of residue so that's the first priority removing material and disposing of it appropriately," said Pimlott.

Pimlott is one of many officials meeting with FEMA Administrator Brock Long, who landed in Santa Rosa this morning to see the fire destruction first hand.

"We're going to be here through the fire suppression piece, but also we're going to continue to support Californians all the way through the recovery," said Long.

"Getting people back into their homes or getting people back to their properties short term in terms of care and shelter those are the discussions going on right now," said Pimlott.

Long says he's never seen a fire like this. "This is a tremendous event for an urban area, which is scary. We have a lot of thinking to do about how you mitigate this down the road."

Click here for more information on how to register for FEMA Disaster Relief.

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