FEMA to open disaster office for St. Helena

GREENSBURG — St. Helena residents affected by Hurricane Isaac soon will be able to apply for disaster assistance at a recovery center in Greensburg, the parish’s emergency preparedness director said Tuesday.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency will set up a disaster recovery center at Charlie Overton Park within the next few days, said Jessica Strickland, Office of Emergency Preparedness director, on Tuesday afternoon.

Until then, residents may apply for FEMA assistance by calling (800) 621-FEMA or visiting the agency online at http://www.disasterassistance.gov, she said.

FEMA estimates 40 to 50 homes sustained damage that would qualify for disaster assistance, Strickland said.

“Most of that was wind damage,” she said. “We had very little flooding.”

St. Helena is one of 16 parishes the federal agency approved for individual assistance.

Parish officials are working to put a debris removal plan in motion as well.

The Police Jury will handle debris removal on its own, hiring only a single truck to assist, Road Superintendent Albert Franklin told residents at Tuesday night’s jury meeting.

Everything is in place except securing a burn site, Franklin said.

The site officials had in mind is too close to utility lines and other structures, he said.

Juror Jule Charles Wascom suggested a site in District 1 where debris was burned following hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Juror Warren McCray Jr. also suggested a site in District 4 likely to garner approval from the state Department of Environmental Quality.

Once a burn site is approved, parish workers will begin picking up “green debris” — tree limbs, shrubbery and other wood materials — from parish rights-of-way, Franklin said.

Residents will be responsible for removing all other storm-damaged items from their properties, he said.