Gov. Katie Hobbs denies tornado emergency declaration
HEBER-OVERGAARD, Ariz. (CNN, KYMA) - A northern Arizona community is still cleaning up a tornado brought 110 mile-per-hour (MPH) winds and left a trail of damage.
However, Gov. Katie Hobbs (D-Ariz.) has denied a request to declare a state of emergency, saying the community will have to respond without the state support.
Days after an EF-1 tornado tore through Heber-Overgaard with 110 MPH winds leaving a trail of destruction behind it, neighbors have been working around the clock to clean up, but for some, the cleanup is only the beginning.
The scale of the damage prompted State Rep. Walt Blackman (R-District 7) to formally ask Gov. Hobbs to declare a state of emergency.
"We're not used to seeing sheds inside of homes, total destruction," said Daryl Seymore, Chairman of the Navajo County Board of Supervisors.
It's also what led Chairman Seymore and the Board of Supervisors to declare their own emergency.
"If there is any funds that become available because we have declared that state of emergency, we'd be able to be in line for that," Seymore expressed.
Seymour puts the county's damage at $20,000 so far, but earlier this week, Hobbs declined the state declaration request.
"The decline of the emergency request essentially signals that the state or the governor's office did not feel like there is enough unmet needs in the community," said Roni Fraser, assistant professor of emergency management as Arizona State University.
Fraser said a denial doesn't mean the damage didn't happen. It means the state believes northern Arizona has the resources to respond without state help.
She said there's another misconception: A state declaration wouldn't mean direct checks for homeowners anyway.
"Most people think that if you get this approval, that it actually opens up what we call individual assistance, but it doesn't. It would only open up the opportunity for what we call public assistance, which is really affecting like roads," Fraser explained.
For homeowners to get help, it would take a federal disaster declaration through FEMA, but Seymore said the county doesn't plan to pursue that, leaving residents facing that six-month cleanup largely on their own.
"Our roads are fine. Our infrastructure is fine. Our schools are fine. Our public buildings are fine. So when we look at everything that way, we feel that we are good," Seymore shared.
