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Residents who lost homes in landfill fire urge Potter County to coordinate aid and consider disaster declaration
Summary
Multiple residents affected by a recent landfill fire told Potter County commissioners that more than 50 families lost homes, described gaps in communication and aid enrollment, and urged the court to pursue a local disaster declaration and a centralized resource plan to speed recovery.
Dozens of Potter County residents told the Commissioner’s Court that families who lost homes in a fire tied to the city landfill need faster, clearer help and stronger county coordination to access state and federal aid.
“Some of the victims are elderly, and their ability to start over brings additional hardships,” said Zenelle, a public commenter, describing more than 50 families displaced by the blaze in the Bishop Estate neighborhood. Zenelle said initial community and nonprofit response was strong but that county and city coordination had “slowed dramatically” and that fewer than 30 families had signed up at the county resource center. She urged the court to “issue or support a local disaster declaration to strengthen coordination and advocacy for state and federal resources” such as FEMA, TDEM and VOAD.
Rhonda Savant, who said she was displaced by the May 18 fire, described repeated problems reaching 211 and confusion about whether residents’ ZIP codes were registered for assistance. “Without our ZIP code in that system, we were very limited on the resources that we could get,” Savant said, adding that some notices she received appeared to limit FEMA payments to equipment rather than personal losses. Mike Fisher and Kim Benson—both residents who visited the site and helped coordinate outreach—urged commissioners to visit the area and push for clearer outreach and cash assistance where insurance is lacking.
County officials acknowledged jurisdictional limits—the landfill is city-owned while the damaged homes are in Potter County—and staff said the county judge has authority to declare a local disaster. Sheriff’s Office staff said the county emergency office did send alerts through cell-phone notifications in affected towers. Commissioners proposed an after-action meeting with city emergency managers and stakeholders to review response, improve notifications and identify cleanup and temporary housing steps. Judge Tanner said he had contacted state lawmakers to seek additional help and that court staff would follow up with stakeholders.
