Montebello tornado: LA County provides recovery assistance to impacted Montebello business owners
MONTEBELLO, Calif. (KABC) -- Los Angeles County on Friday provided an on-site team to provide recovery and resources for business owners and employees impacted by the tornado that touched down in Montebello.
A rare sighting of a 110-mph tornado hit an industrial area of Montebello on Vail Avenue on Wednesday.
Among those who showed up asking for help with the resource site was Lizette Sanchez, who helps run her family's ice cream truck business called Frostbite Ice Cream. The tornado damaged all of the business' four trucks.
"It is a little bit frustrating since we are a small family business," said Sanchez. "We do hope that we get helped out with something at least. Since it's not something very cheap."
There is a GoFundMe to help Sanchez and her family to raise $16,000 to get their trucks fixed and their business back up and running. The rain this past month halted their operation and the tornado just added more problems.
"It's probably been like a month that we haven't worked. And then with this, we just hope everything can get better," said Sanchez.
County workers also canvassed the area and went to each business to provide a list of resources available. Among the top resources is legal aid.
"A lot of the businesses are going to have to go through their insurance. So, a lot of it is legal assistance, navigating that. Most insurance you didn't check the box on tornadoes hitting your business," said Jessica Kim, chief deputy of L.A. County Department of Economic Opportunity.
The city will host a resource fair on Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at The Arc Montebello.
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