FEMA finally to pay Camp Gruber ambulance bills

Wednesday, April 5th 2006, 1:13 pm

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ Ambulance services that provided service to Hurricane Katrina evacuees at Camp Gruber near Muskogee are finally about to be paid by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

State Department of Emergency Management spokeswoman Michelann Ooten says FEMA has approved about $200,000 in ambulance bills. She says checks should be issued by next week.

Ooten says 22 ambulance companies have been waiting for their payments for services provided at both Camp Gruber and at Falls Creek State Park near Davis. Several ambulance services went to Falls Creek to prepare for an expected arrival of evacuees but the park ended up not being used.

About 1,500 evacuees lived at Camp Gruber from early September until early October.