Wildfire
SBA wildfire loan centers open Monday in Wetmore and Pueblo, with a Dec. 14 deadline for damage claims
The Small Business Administration issued declaration CO-20032 on Oct. 14 for homeowners, renters and businesses in Custer and Pueblo counties, the fire-scarred counties where FEMA denied individual assistance last month.
PUEBLO
The state Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, in its Oct. 15 update, listed declaration CO-20032 as issued on Oct. 14 for businesses, homeowners and renters. Custer and Pueblo are the primary counties. Eight contiguous counties are also covered: Crowley, El Paso, Fremont, Huerfano, Las Animas, Lincoln, Otero and Saguache. The filing deadline for physical damage claims is Dec. 14, 2026, and the deadline for economic injury claims is July 14, 2027.
The outreach centers open Monday, Oct. 19. In Custer County, the center is at the Wetmore Community Center and Wetmore Community Library, at 95 County Road 393 in Wetmore, at the junction of Highway 67 and Highway 96. In Pueblo County, it is at Pueblo County Government, 201 West 8th Street, Suite 310, in Pueblo. The state said hours of operation are still to be posted for both centers.
What the loans can cover was spelled out when Colorado requested the assistance, in reporting by ColoradoBiz on the state's request. Homeowners can borrow up to $500,000 to repair or replace a damaged primary residence. Homeowners and renters can borrow up to $100,000 to repair or replace damaged belongings, including furniture, appliances and vehicles. Eligible businesses and private nonprofits can borrow up to $2 million to repair or replace damaged property, equipment and inventory, and qualified rental properties may also be eligible. Separate Economic Injury Disaster Loans can help eligible small businesses cover operating expenses during recovery, including businesses without physical property damage.
Two cautions come with the money. The loans must be repaid, and they remain subject to SBA approval and individual eligibility, as ColoradoBiz noted in its account of the request. Pueblo County Commissioner Miles Lucero's position, in the same reporting, was that because the assistance is loans rather than grants, the county will keep pushing for hazard mitigation funding while standing with families as they decide what is right for them.
The declaration fills a gap left in September. The federal government approved the Public Assistance portion of Colorado's major disaster declaration on Sept. 4, supporting eligible community recovery work, then denied the Individual Assistance and Hazard Mitigation Grant Program portions on Sept. 18. ColoradoBiz reported that the state would not appeal the Individual Assistance denial, because federal procedures prevent the SBA from issuing an independent physical disaster declaration while such an appeal is active or pending, and an appeal could take months with no federal deadline for a decision. The state did appeal the hazard mitigation denial, seeking funding for flood prevention, stormwater work and wildfire risk reduction. U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper's argument for moving quickly, as reported by ColoradoBiz, was that families are still sorting through insurance claims unsure how they will pay for basic repairs, and that every week of waiting is another week they cannot start rebuilding.
Other recovery money is already moving on a separate track. On Oct. 2, Gov. Jared Polis announced that Colorado would cover 75 percent of the local cost share for Emergency Watershed Protection projects in Ouray, Pueblo and Custer counties, a program administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service. Households sorting out which pot of money applies to them should also note that a separate SBA declaration, CO-20034, covers private nonprofits in Custer, Dolores, Ouray and Pueblo counties, with earlier deadlines of Nov. 1, 2026 for physical damage and June 1, 2027 for economic injury.
