VENTURA, Calif. – On Tuesday, February 13, the Board of Supervisors, voted to ratify the proclamation of a local emergency put forth by the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office of Emergency Services to secure federal disaster assistance in relation to the storms that affected the county beginning on February 4. The vote to ratify occurred following the date of the proclamation since the Board of Supervisors was not in session on the date the proclamation was authored.
“The prospective funding that we would receive from FEMA is essential to our ability as a county to support residents as we perform repairs to local infrastructure that sustained major damage,” said Kelly Long, Chair of the Board of Supervisors. “We hope these funds can quickly become available to assist the County in covering the costs related to the most recent storms.”
The February storms brought up to 12 inches of rain in some areas of the county, producing flooding and mudflow that significantly impacted public infrastructure. Currently, the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office of Emergency Services estimates that there is nearly $40,000,000 in local damages.
“We are hopeful that FEMA will recognize the severity of our damage and that the President of the United States will move quickly to authorize a Federal Disaster Declaration,” stated Patrick Maynard, Director of Emergency Services. “Much of the damage experienced by our county during the February storms was focused on our critical infrastructure like bridges, roadways, and levees. Repairing these assets will be costly and will without a doubt require financial assistance from the federal government.”
The effort to qualify for federal and/or state disaster assistance was spearheaded by the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office of Emergency Services and the Ventura County Public Works Agency which led a joint damage assessment survey team that included representatives from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services.
