FAQ’s For Those Affected by the Creek and SQF Complex Fires
Q: My home or business was destroyed during the Creek/SQF Complex Fire. How can I find blueprints or photographs of my home or business in order to rebuild?
A: Your best bet is to contact county public works departments. For Fresno County, contact the Fresno County Public Works Department at 559-600-4279 or creekfirepermitinfo@fresnocountyca.gov, for Madera County, contact the Madera County Public Works Department at 559-675-7811 or mcpublicworks@maderacounty.com, for Tulare County, contact the Tulare County Resource Management Agency at 559-624-7000 or rmapublicrequest@co.tulare.ca.us. There is also slight chance that we may have photographs or other information about your home or business in our June English Forestry, Lutz-Ratliff Huntington Lake History or Harold G. Schutt collections.
Q: My important documents (land/ deeds/leases, birth certificates, driver’s licenses, social security cards) were destroyed in the Creek Fire. How can I go about replacing those?
A: You will need to contact the relevant agencies in your county/national forest. Below is the contact info for the relevant agencies for each type of document in each county:
Deeds/Leases, Birth and Marriage Certificates:
Fresno County Recorder’s Office
2281 Tulare St, Fresno, CA 93721
https://www.co.fresno.ca.us/departments/recorder
559-600-3476
Madera County Recorder
200 W 4th St, Madera, CA 93637
https://www.maderacounty.com/government/county-clerk-recorder-elections/county-recorder
559-675-7724
Tulare County Clerk-Recorder
221 S Mooney Blvd, Visalia, CA 93291
https://tularecounty.ca.gov/clerkrecorder/
559-636-5051
Driver’s Licenses/State IDs:
California Department of Motor Vehicles
www.dmv.ca.gov
800-777-0133
Fresno DMV Office
6420 N. Blackstone Ave., 93710
Clovis DMV Office
2103 Shaw Ave., 93611
Madera DMV Office
1206 W. Maple St., 93637
Visalia DMV Office
1711 East Main St., 93292
Tulare DMV Office
274 E. Cross Ave., 93274
Social Security Cards:
Please visit https://faq.ssa.gov/en-US/Topic/article/KA-02017 for information on how to get replacement Social Security cards. You can also visit the local Social Security offices below:
640 W Locust Ave.
Fresno, CA 93650
1-866-931-9041
1901 E Noble Ave.
Visalia, CA 93292
1-866-344-8475
Passports:
Passports can usually be obtained at your local Post Office. You can locate the one nearest you here: https://tools.usps.com/find-location.htm
Q: I work for the Forest Service, Southern California Edison, Caltrans or Sierra Unified School District and we are trying to restore infrastructure (trail signs, bridges, structures, campgrounds, schools, roads, etc.) destroyed or damaged by the wildfires. How can I find information and photographs to help us restore that infrastructure?
A: The June English Forestry Collection contains a wealth of information about trails, roads, bridges, historical structures, infrastructure and more for the Sierra National Forest. The Subject files, Place Names, Hydro-Projects, and Special-Use Cards series in particular have information on these topics. You can access the finding aid to the collection here: http://archives.library.fresnostate.edu/repositories/2/resources/16. The Harold G. Schutt Collection may have some information about these topics for the Sequoia National Forest. The guide to that collection is here: http://archives.library.fresnostate.edu/repositories/2/resources/24. If you have questions or want more information from either of these collections, please contact us at scrc@mail.fresnostate.edu. Currently we are only open for appointments for Fresno State faculty and students, but we can provide research services remotely for community members.
Q: I’m a member of a local Native American tribe or archaeologist researching Native American archaeological sites that may have been affected/damaged by the Creek or SQF Complex fires. Where can I find information on those sites?
A: The June English Forestry Collection contains a significant amount of information about archeological sites in the Sierra National Forest in its Native Americans series as well as the Photographs series. You can access the finding aid to the collection here: http://archives.library.fresnostate.edu/repositories/2/resources/16. The Harold G. Schutt Collection may also have some information about Native American sites for the Sequoia National Forest. The guide to that collection is here: http://archives.library.fresnostate.edu/repositories/2/resources/24. If you have questions or want more information from either of these collections, please contact us at scrc@mail.fresnostate.edu. Currently we are only open for appointments for Fresno State faculty and students, but we can provide research services remotely for community members.
Q: I’m researching the history of forest management/logging/prescribed burns/grazing permits, endangered and endemic species etc. in the context of the Creek or SQF Complex fires. Where can I find information on the history of that?
A: The June English Forestry Collection contains substantial information about logging permits, prescribed burns, grazing and forest management plans, endangered and endemic species and more for the Sierra National Forest in the Subject Files, Surnames, Logging, and Packers series. You can access the finding aid to the collection here: http://archives.library.fresnostate.edu/repositories/2/resources/16. The Harold G. Schutt Collection may also have some information about these topics for the Sequoia National Forest. The guide to that collection is here: http://archives.library.fresnostate.edu/repositories/2/resources/24. If you have questions or want more information from either of these collections, please contact us at scrc@mail.fresnostate.edu. Currently we are only open for appointments for Fresno State faculty and students, but we can provide research services remotely for community members.
