Many homes were destroyed by the Beachie Creek Fire in Gates, Ore., in September 2020. The Federal Emergency Management Agency is supposed to help people who have lost property, maybe even their homes, in a natural disaster. But year after year, FEMA has been denying a higher percentage of claims.
An investigation into FEMA claims after 2020's historic wildfires in Oregon and California reveals wide fluctuations in approval rates and denials of people who met aid criteria.
Brenda and Francis Dairy's small ranch house, tucked into the Oregon woods, was built to withstand a wildfire. The siding was concrete, the roof metal. It didn't matter. On Sept. 7 of last year, as the sky turned dark orange and the air grew thick with smoke, flames tore through nearby trees and engulfed the house entirely.