Butte Fire FEMA Grant Spending Target Of Federal Audit

San Andreas, CA – The Department of Homeland Security 20 page audit conducted by the Office Of Inspector General, in agreement with FEMA, calls for the state to step in and assist Calaveras County in dealing with the Butte Fire disaster clean up to “avoid misspending the $10.8 million in grant awards.”

The Office of Inspector General noted that could lead to a loss of funds or the county having to pay back some money to FEMA. The audit points to debris and tree removal delays, possible duplicate insurance benefits along with the county’s lacking accounting system and experience dealing a federally declared disaster as potential problems.  Calaveras County Butte Fire Recovery Operations spokesperson Sharon Torrence admits they do not deal with emergencies like this on any regular basis but adds that the “staff has been working hard to this properly.” She maintains the county just received the audit at the beginning of this week, stating, “We’re in the process of reading through it and trying to understand exactly what’s wanted and needed. When we complete that we will have better answers.” Torrence expects those answers will be given to the Calaveras County Supervisor’s and the public at the board’s meeting on Tuesday.

Click here to view the entire audit.