LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake is among 50 counties included in a state of emergency declared by Gov. Jerry Brown on Monday night as a result of this month's heavy winter storms as well as storms last month.
Brown's office said he issued two emergency proclamations on Monday “to secure funding to help communities respond to and recover from severe winter storms that have caused flooding, mudslides, erosion, debris flow and damage to roads and highways.”
The emergency proclamations issued for the December and January storms cover the counties of Alameda, Alpine, Butte, Calaveras, Contra Costa, El Dorado, Fresno, Humboldt, Inyo, Kern, Kings, Lake, Lassen, Los Angeles, Madera, Marin, Mendocino, Merced, Modoc, Monterey, Napa, Nevada, Orange, Placer, Plumas, Sacramento, San Benito, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Francisco, San Luis Obispo, San Mateo, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Solano, Sonoma, Stanislaus, Sutter, Tehama, Trinity, Tulare, Tuolumne, Ventura, Yolo, Yuba and Del Norte.
The governor's proclamations separately reference storms that began on Dec. 9 and on Jan. 3.
The proclamation referencing the January events states that, beginning on Jan. 3, a storm system resulting from an atmospheric river swept across California, bringing high winds, substantial precipitation, and flooding, and impacting dozens of counties.
Both proclamations also note that the state's severe drought created conditions leading to flash flooding, erosion, and mud and debris flows.
Lake County was particularly impacted by a set of storms that began on Jan. 6.
Those storms caused a surge in Clear Lake's depth and closures of some roadways due to washouts and flooding.
The most serious impacts were seen in Hidden Valley Lake, where flooding occurred and an advisory evacuation notice was issued.
Supervisor Moke Simon, who represents the south county, reported that more than 50 homes in his district were impacted by the flooding, with between 10 and 15 of them having significant damage.
The storms led Sheriff Brian Martin to declare a local emergency on Jan. 13, which the Board of Supervisors ratified at its Jan. 17 meeting, as Lake County News has reported.
Brown's proclamation ordered Caltrans to formally request immediate assistance through the Federal Highway Administration's Emergency Relief Program in order to obtain federal assistance for highway repairs or reconstruction.
It also stated that the Governor's Office of Emergency Services shall provide assistance to the counties, as appropriate and based on damage assessments received from local governments, under the authority of the California Disaster Assistance Act.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
Gov. Brown declares state of emergency due to winter storms
- Elizabeth Larson
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