Sonoma County assistance centers open for residents impacted by fires

GUERNEVILLE, Calif. - Local assistance centers opened Saturday in Guerneville and Healdsburg to better connect residents affected by the Walbridge and Meyers fires to a plethora of resources and services. 

The west county local assistance center is located at the Bank of America in Guerneville, 16390 Main St. and the north county center will be located at the Healdsburg High School gym, 1024 Prince St. 

On Saturday, both centers were open from 1 to 7 p.m.  

Starting on Sunday, hours will increase from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily until Sept 4. Dates may be extended if needed. 

Residents can access assistance with registering with the Federal Emergency Management Agency for disaster assistance, replacing vital documents like driver's licenses or identification cards, accessing financial resource and filing insurance claims, among other re-entry resources and services. 

Non-profits are also available to assist with resource coordination but will not be providing gift cards, according to Sonoma County. 

All resources will be shifting to centers so, the community points of distribution for residents re-entering burn closed at the end of Friday. Those re-entry resources are available at the centers. 

Spanish interpretation are available, as well as representatives from local, state and federal agencies to answer questions, refer residents to different resources and take applications to determine eligibility for programs and benefits. 

The services are open to all Sonoma County residents, regardless of immigration status.