The California Earthquake Authority is offering $3,000 grants for qualified homeowners to do a seismic retrofit of their homes.
The Earthquake Brace and Bolt Grant Program encourages homeowners to properly brace crippled walls and bolt their home to its foundation.
California Earthquake Authority officials stressed that retrofitting the house does not mean it won't be damaged at all, but rather it can prevent the house from sliding and toppling off its foundation when an earthquake strikes.
"We have data from the 2014 Napa earthquake that houses that were red-tagged and had the damage of sliding off the foundation were not yet reoccupied over two years after the earthquake," said Janiele Maffei, California Earthquake Authority Chief Mitigation Officer.
Ed Ruiz, general contractor for Kanyon Construction, said retrofitting is all about lessening the damage.
"People have the misconception that the [retrofitted] house is not going to fall down — that's a total misconception," Ruiz said. "Basically, what we're trying to do is give a better survivability rate."
To be eligible for the grant, applicants must be homeowners living in the home and live within one of the 815 qualifying zip codes. The house must be built before 1980 and have a crawlspace or a raised foundation.
Low-income households may also be eligible to apply for an additionalsupplemental grant.
Once the application is accepted, homeowners are required to hire a contractor listed in the Earthquake Brace and Bolt's Contractor Directory.
All of the contractors in the directory have taken free FEMA seismic retrofit training.
So far, there are only a few Santa Barbara County contractors listed in the directory and none from San Luis Obispo County.
Ruiz, who first heard about the program while doing contract work in Southern California, said other contractors should consider taking the course.
"It brings a lot of business, but it is also a good refresher for all general contractors," Ruiz said. "Over the course of time, we get sidetracked and forget certain things. [It is] definitely a good refresher course."
The deadline to apply for the Earthquake Brace and Bolt Grant is February 21, 2024.
Click here for more information about the grant.
