LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – As local officials continued on Friday to grapple with the results of heavy rain and a still-rising lake level, Gov. Jerry Brown wrote to President Donald Trump to request a presidential major disaster declaration for the state because of this winter’s storms.
Gov. Brown’s office said the request for the declaration is meant to bolster ongoing state and local recovery efforts, and is aimed specifically at addressing the January storms that caused flooding, mudslides, erosion, power outages and damage to critical infrastructure across California.
Last month Lake County Sheriff Brian Martin had declared a local emergency due to the January storms, which the Board of Supervisors ratified.
The Governor’s Office followed up by issuing an emergency proclamation for 49 counties – including Lake – last month because of the January storms, as Lake County News has reported.
On Friday, Gov. Brown also issued an executive order that added the counties of Amador, Mono and Riverside to the 49 counties already included in the emergency proclamation he issued last month.
The order also authorizes state funding through the California Disaster Assistance Act for 34 counties impacted by the storms and directs the California Department of Transportation to formally request immediate assistance through the Federal Highway Administration's Emergency Relief Program for Amador and Riverside counties.
While Lake County officials are still dealing with the results of the January storms, they’re also in the midst of the response to this month’s rain and rising lake level.
Flood stage for Clear Lake is 9 feet Rumsey. Early Saturday morning, the lake’s level was at 9.78 feet Rumsey, while the Cache Creek Dam’s releases were at 4,290 cubic feet per second, according to the US Geological Survey.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s forecast for the lake predicts its waters will start to recede on Sunday.
This week saw the city of Clearlake close its remaining public boat launches, with the city of Lakeport and the county of Lake keeping their ramps closed.
In Clearlake, the Public Works Department closed Lower Lakeshore Drive on Thursday, with crews continuing to monitor road and hillside conditions, according to Director Doug Herren.
In Lakeport on Friday, the city closed the Third, Fourth and Fifth Street parking lots at Library Park, which was closed on Thursday after lake waters breached the seawall.
The city also closed Lakeshore Boulevard between Lange Street and Giselman Street on Friday. Esplanade Street, K Street, Konocti Avenue, Lupoyoma Avenue, Helena Avenue, Lily Cove Avenue and E Street also remain closed.
City crews on Friday afternoon were monitoring the city’s sewer system, which was experiencing intrusion from the stormwater. Their efforts are detailed in the video above.
In the unincorporated county, Lake County Public Works said New Long Valley Road and Old Long Valley Road near Clearlake Oaks both had slide activity but remained open, while Twin Valley Road remained closed.
Scotts Valley Road at Highway 20 and at Hendricks Road, and Laurel Dell Road at Mid Lake Road near Upper Lake were still closed on Friday, but the Nice-Lucerne Cutoff, and Lakeshore Boulevard and Stokes Avenue in Nice were open despite some flooding, Public Works officials said.
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