DISASTER COUNTIES
The 35 Tennessee counties included in the disaster declaration are Anderson, Bedford, Bledsoe, Blount, Campbell, Clay, Coffee, Cumberland, Fentress, Giles, Grainger, Grundy, Hamblen, Hancock, Hardeman, Jefferson, Knox, Lawrence, Loudon, Marshall, McMinn, McNairy, Meigs, Monroe, Moore, Morgan, Obion, Overton, Putnam, Roane, Scott, Sevier, Van Buren, Warren and White.
County officials across Tennessee breathed a collective sigh of relief Thursday when President Barack Obama declared a week-long stretch of winter weather in February, that claimed the lives of 30 people and caused extensive damage, a federal disaster.
The declaration means that the 35 counties affected by snow and ice storms between Feb. 15-22 can apply to the Federal Emergency Management Agency for reimbursement of up to 75 percent of costs incurred due to the weather.
Allen Lendley, director of emergency management and homeland security for Coffee County, said county officials were thrilled to receive the declaration. He said the county spent $500,000 during the disaster on road clearing, debris removal, overtime for fire, police and EMS officers, and utility companies repairing downed power lines.
"We're tickled to death that we're getting anything back," Lendley said. "When something like this hits, and you have to spend half a million dollars that you didn't budget for, it helps to get some of it back."
Cumberland County, one of the hardest hit by the disaster, is still recovering. Jill Ritzman, deputy director of the Cumberland County Emergency Management Agency, said she's still removing felled tree limbs and debris from her own yard. Having just received the news of the president's declaration Thursday, she said it was still early on in the process, but compared the county's excitement to that of teenagers driving for the first time.
"Dad just gave us the car, so we haven't had time to change our clothes and take it for a drive," she said. "We're just opening the door."
Dean Flener, spokesman for the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency, said it would serve as an intermediary during the reimbursement process between the counties and FEMA.
"We become the federal fund pass-through organization," Flener said. "We'll meet with county leaders and officials in the 35 counties over the next several months and help them put their requests together."
Flener said the president's decision to offer federal aid reflected the significance of the disaster, which the National Weather Service called the worst in the state in two decades.
"Having 35 counties affected, that's a third of the state," Flener said. "That's a geographically big impact, and a financially big impact. A lot of these counties are rural and can't afford to absorb the cost of damage, so it's big that the federal government stepped in."
Contact staff writer Will Healey at whealey@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6731.