LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — On Monday, Sheriff Rob Howe issued a local emergency declaration following a week of atmospheric river storms that have left Lake County’s communities flooded and battered.
The declaration by Howe, who also serves as Lake County’s director of the Office of Emergency Services, states the existence of a local emergency resulting from “conditions of extreme peril to the safety of persons and property” that have arisen from winter storms that brought “excessive rainfall, high winds and snow, resulting in downed trees and power lines, flooding and other serious damage across the county to public infrastructure and residential properties.”
The document also notes that the conditions brought on by the storms “may extend beyond the control of the services, personnel, equipment and facilities of Lake County.”
The declaration said the storms in question began on Jan. 31.
Those atmospheric river storms hit their peak on Sunday, when a pineapple express storm from the tropical Pacific pummeled Lake County with high winds and several inches of rain that, combined, resulted in countless reports of downed trees and power lines, blocked roads and power outages.
On Monday morning, even as a break in the rain arrived, the reports of downed trees, power and utility lines kept coming due to the heavily saturated soils and high water around the county.
At that point, the California HIghway Patrol reported that numerous roads remained closed due to flooding, rock and mudslides, fallen trees and downed poles.
Pacific Gas and Electric on Monday also was continuing to work to restore customers in dozens of outages across Lake County.
Emergency declarations like those Howe issued Monday are a necessary step in order for the county to receive state and federal disaster funding and assistance.
Such declarations need to be ratified within a week by the Board of Supervisors. If they’re not confirmed and ratified within seven days, they expire.
The board is scheduled to have its regular meeting on Tuesday morning.
At that time it will also consider, as part of its consent agenda, continuing a local emergency declaration Howe issued due to the snow event that hit in late February 2023 and a May 2021 emergency proclamation issued by his predecessor, Sheriff Brian Martin, due to drought conditions.
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Sheriff declares emergency due to heavy storms
- Elizabeth Larson
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