LAKEPORT, Calif. – On Tuesday the Board of Supervisors approved an emergency declaration made last week by the county's emergency services director as a result of the storm, and continued a local emergency declaration due to the drought that is still in force in the county.
Lake County Office of Emergency Services Manager Marisa Chilafoe took the items to the board.
Chilafoe said County Administrative Officer Matt Perry, acting in his capacity as Office of Emergency Services director, declared the emergency, which went into effect as of 9:45 a.m. Dec. 11.
The storm began on the night of Dec. 10, and over a 24-hour period several inches of rain hit the county.
During the storm Chilafoe opened the county's emergency operations center and worked with the cities of Clearlake and Lakeport, which also declared emergencies due to the widespread flooding and road closures.
With little discussion, the board ratified Perry's declaration unanimously.
Supervisor Anthony Farrington noted during the meeting that he had received a call from Lake County's new member of the state Assembly, Bill Dodd, about local conditions.
Later on Tuesday, Dodd joined Mike McGuire, Lake County's new representative in the State Senate, and several other state legislators representing Marin and Sonoma counties to seek a disaster declaration for flood areas from Gov. Jerry Brown.
In other board news on Tuesday, Chilafoe asked the board to extend – for the ninth time – the emergency declaration due to the county's drought conditions that the supervisors first approved in early March.
State law requires the board to reconsider extending the emergency every 30 days.
Board Chair Denise Rushing asked if there was still a drought. Chilafoe said yes.
Chilafoe said that with the soil very dried out from months of little or no rainfall, it was not able to adapt to the large amounts of water that the storm brought last week. That's why flooding resulted.
The National Weather Service has been able to provide data and projections on how much rain the state needs to catch up, she said.
She said the state will need to have 150 percent of its average rainfall and snowpack level from December through May in order for drought conditions to lift.
Weather forecasters “don't anticipate that to happen,” Chilafoe said.
While the recent rains were helpful for water supply, the overall impact for the state's reservoirs was minimal, Chilafoe said, with the rain only increasing levels by about 5 to 8 percent.
She pointed out that some local water systems remain under urgency ordinances because of low water supply.
Supervisor Jim Comstock moved to extend the emergency declaration, which his board colleagues approved 5-0.
With regard to Clear Lake's level following the recent rains, the lake level has risen from just below 0.0 feet Rumsey before the storm to 1.74 feet Rumsey Tuesday evening, according to the US Geological Survey.
While that's far better than the 0.65 foot Rumsey level the lake was at on Dec. 16, 2013, it's well below the 3.46 feet Rumsey recorded on Dec. 16, 2012, but closing in on the 2.38 feet Rumsey on Dec. 16, 2011, and the 3.01 feet Rumsey on Dec. 16, 2010, based on US Geological Survey records.
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Supervisors ratify storm emergency, continue drought declaration
- Elizabeth Larson
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