LAKEPORT, Calif. – During an emergency meeting on Friday afternoon the Board of Supervisors gave Department of Public Works staff the go ahead to begin contracting for Valley fire recovery work and got an update from the sheriff on plans to repopulate evacuated areas.
The board met for about 40 minutes at the Lake County Courthouse. Supervisor Jeff Smith was absent.
At the beginning of the meeting, Supervisor Jim Comstock led the moment of silence, asking to remember those whose lives have been lost in the fire.
Comstock's south county district has been ravaged by the Valley fire. He told Lake County News before the meeting that he watched the fire move over 10 miles in a half-hour when it began last Saturday.
Eight of his family members have lost their homes and much of his 1,700-acre ranch has burned. On Saturday night, he fought to protect his house and barn, with arriving firefighters helping build a line to save the structures – just in time.
He said he knows of many more who narrowly escaped with their lives, having lost their homes and all of their other possessions.
In addition to the matter involving contracts and purchasing rules for the recovery effort, Comstock told Lake County News that he asked for the discussion regarding the plans to repopulate the south county to be added to the emergency meeting's agenda, noting he has many concerned constituents who want to know when they can return to their homes.
County Administrative Officer Matt Perry took to the board a request to authorize staff – in particular, Department of Public Works Director Scott De Leon – to begin hiring independent contractors to perform fire-related repair work.
Perry also asked the board to waive the competitive bidding process because it is not in the public interest due to the state of emergency.
Perry would ask for – and ultimately receive – approval on both counts, with De Leon able to approve contracts in amounts up to $1 million each, up from a ceiling of $175,000 each.
Assistant Public Works Director Lars Ewing explained during the meeting that they asked to bring the matter to the board immediately so they could begin preparing contracts before the board's next meeting on Tuesday.
Perry said the amount of repair work that needs to be done exceeds the ability of Public Works staff to perform on its own.
His memo to the board noted that the supervisors could require that staff submit to the board any and all contracts entered into for board approval at its next meeting on Tuesday.
“We're overwhelmed with the amount of damage,” said De Leon.
He said there are more than 4,000 feet of guardrail that need to be replaced; miles of roads lined with hazardous, burned trees; and a bin-wall on Socrates Mine Road – a recently completed stormwater project – that now has been burned up.
“We've got some very immediate needs,” De Leon said.
“I'll just say that we don't have all the answers in place,” he said, explaining that county staff is working through the competitive bidding requirements set forth by the California Office of Emergency Service and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
De Leon said they need to make sure that whatever they do has the potential for reimbursement down the road, and he and his staff are working with Cal OES on that issue.
Ewing said it's important to follow the right rules to be eligible for the money from the government. He said it's the federal funding, not the state funding, that they're concerned about when it comes to the rules.
De Leon said the Federal Highway Administration has placed huge emphasis on procurement procedures, with agencies suffering significant penalties for noncompliance. “We're trying to make sure we don't fall into that trap.”
Sean Smith, Cal OES' recovery liaison who also assisted during the Rocky fire, said there will be tricky issues for each of the recovery projects, and he wasn't sure if the board could do a blanket waiver of the competitive bidding process for all of them.
“The waiver of your local procurement policy for the emergency projects is not any trouble, that's normal,” he said, adding they needed to work within each projects to make sure it meets the federal procurement standards.
Board Chair Anthony Farrington noted that time is of the essence, and the board action would allow staff to work on the issues during the weekend. “I think you have full board support and community support.”
Comstock moved to waive the competitive bidding process due to the local emergency and authorize staff to approve contracts of up to $1 million each, with the board voting 4-0.
Board gets update on repopulation
Following the vote, the board asked Sheriff Brian Martin to give the latest on repopulation.
Martin said the discussion about repopulating evacuated areas has been going on since Tuesday.
While the fire appears to be out in some areas, and the smoke in those areas also is gone, that doesn't mean the danger is gone, he said.
Martin reported having himself been trapped in Anderson Springs during a recent visit due to a fallen tree.
He said Pacific Gas and Electric has been tremendous in its efforts to get power restored, and is working with Cal Fire to remove hazardous trees. There also are concerns because of hazardous materials left behind after fires, as well as ash pits.
“We won't be able to eliminate all of those hazards,” but Martin said the goal is to mitigate them and educate the public about the fact that they will be moving back into a hazardous area – and entering at their own risk.
Martin urged the public not to sift through debris. Officials are making available to the public personal protective gear to keep them safe from harmful materials they may encounter on their properties.
The repopulation of the south county is taking place in a phased approach, Martin said. “We can't do it all at one time.”
His agency also continues to search for missing people. “We still have some people that are unaccounted for,” with a concern that there may still be more fatalities.
The phased repopulation approach takes many factors into consideration, and the decisions behind it involve the sheriff's office, utilities and Cal Fire, he said.
Martin said a new shelter will be set up at Twin Pine Casino, along with a local assistance center.
He acknowledged, “It's never going to be as fast as everyone wants,” adding that these are small steps “in a very, very long journey.”
There has been a great deal of mutual aid from agencies across the state. “It's a huge disaster, but I'm surrounded by professionals,” Martin said.
He told the board that looters are being arrested. “The ones we're catching, you're going to hear about it.”
The sheriff's office is following up in reports of price gouging, and so far have found some of the reports to be inaccurate, he said.
In addition to the looters stealing from homes, Martin said here is the “blue collar looter” – including unlicensed contractors and adjusters. He urged community members to only use licensed contractors and to make sure they need public adjusters.
Martin said the state insurance commissioner visited Lake County on Friday to get a sense of the situation.
He also informed the board that the National Guard was sending in 50 teams of military police to assist with patrolling and protecting the community. They also will assist with escorting evacuees into some of the fire areas to feed livestock and pets.
During public comment, Pat Trujillo – a resident of Harrington Flat near Adams Springs – thanked Martin for being able to have one of the escorted visits to her home to see her cat.
“Can I go home, please?” she asked.
Martin said he couldn't let her go quite yet. “We truly recognize this is a concern,” he said, adding they were working to get her home as soon as possible.
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