Disaster relief for fire-affected businesses

The Pole Creek Fire in September and October struck a body blow to Sisters businesses. Heavy smoke that descended on downtown Sisters deterred visitors and sent many locals packing. That left stores and restaurants throughout Sisters Country empty.

U. S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is offering low-interest working capital federal loans to small businesses economically impacted by the Pole Creek Fire. SBA Administrator Karen G. Mills noted that SBA acted under its own authority to declare a disaster following a request received on December 11, 2012, from Gov. John A. Kitzhaber.

The disaster declaration makes SBA assistance available in the Oregon counties of Crook, Deschutes, Harney, Jefferson, Klamath, Lake, Lane and Linn.

"Governor Kitzhaber, his staff and the SBA staff have been very helpful in getting this program invoked for not only the city of Sisters, but for Deschutes and the surrounding counties," said Sisters Economic Development Director Patty Cordoni. "For some businesses, the Pole Creek Fire and the smoke that deterred tourists and cyclists caused a severe reduction in income."

Cordoni noted that "five local Sisters businesses submitted the supporting documentation the state is required to submit to SBA when requesting an Economic Injury Disaster Loan Declaration. The program is now invoked, so if there are businesses that did not submit the initial forms, they can still apply for the loan program with a deadline of September 12, 2013. I want to thank our government agencies for their exemplary work in executing this program."

"The U. S. Small Business Administration is strongly committed to providing the most effective and customer-focused response possible to assist Oregon's small businesses with federal disaster loans. We will be swift in our efforts to help these small businesses recover from the financial impacts of this disaster," said Administrator Mills.

"Small, nonfarm businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, small businesses engaged in aquaculture and most private, nonprofit organizations of any size may qualify for Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDLs) of up to $2 million to help meet financial obligations and operating expenses which could have been met had the disaster not occurred," said SBA's Oregon Acting District Director Robert DuCote.

"These loans may be used to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable and other bills that can't be paid because of the disaster's impact. Disaster loans can provide vital economic assistance to small businesses to help overcome the temporary loss of revenue they are experiencing," DuCote added.

Eligibility is based on the financial impact of the disaster only and not on any actual property damage. These loans have an interest rate of 4 percent for small businesses and 3 percent for private, nonprofit organizations with terms up to 30 years, and are restricted to small businesses without the financial ability to offset the adverse impact without hardship.

Applicants may apply online using SBA's secure website at https://

disasterloan.sba.gov/ela.

The Oregon Small Business Development Center (SBDC) in Bend is offering free, personalized counseling to help affected business owners in their recovery. Business owners may call the SBDC at 541-383-7290 Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

For owners of these impacted small businesses, disaster loan information and applications are available from SBA by calling SBA at 800-659-2955, emailing [email protected], or visiting SBA's website at http://www.sba.gov/services/disasterassistance. Individuals who are deaf or hard-of-hearing may call 800-877-8339.

The filing deadline to return economic injury applications is September 12, 2013.