COCONINO COUNTY — Businesses impacted by the Dragon Bravo Fire and White Sage Fire can apply for Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) after the US Small Business Administration (SBA) declared an economic disaster in the area due to the fires.
Coconino County Economic Development and Emergency Management teams were actively collecting business information that led to the federal declaration.
“As fire crews were on the ground, Coconino County was also thinking about economic recovery assistance for businesses who rely on tourism both on the North Rim and South Rim of the Grand Canyon,” said County Manager Andy Bertelsen. “The loss of the infrastructure at the North Rim and the fires impact on tourism have definitely affected the economy of northern Arizona. Coconino County took proactive steps to begin a process for federal resources to be made available to businesses throughout our county and surrounding counties.”
The economic disaster declaration allows businesses in Coconino County and surrounding counties including, Mohave, Yavapai, Gila and Navajo in Arizona, along with Kane and San Juan in Utah to apply. The EIDL program provides 30-year loans with a 4% interest rate to businesses. Principal and interest payments are not required in the first year of the loan to help businesses survive the loss of the tourism season.
The federal declaration process began with impacted businesses filling out worksheets to show economic injury. Coconino County worked with businesses to complete these worksheets and submitted a packet to the Governor’s Office for endorsement, which was followed by the economic disaster declaration by the Small Business Administration.
Coconino County will continue to work with affected businesses and is partnering with the SBA, Arizona Department of Emergency and Military Affairs and Arizona Commerce Authority to provide in-person SBA mobile services in impacted communities, such as Page, Fredonia, Marble Canyon, Jacob Lake, Cliff Dwellers, Tusayan and Williams in the coming weeks. The loan application will also be available online for those who do not need in-person assistance.
To apply online, visit sba.gov/disaster. Applicants may also call SBA’s Customer Service Center at (800) 659-2955 or email disastercustomerservice@sba.gov for more information on SBA disaster assistance. For people who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services.