Mendocino County added to ‘major disaster declaration’ for latest winter storms
Mendocino County has been added to the “major disaster declaration” for the 2022-2023 Winter Storms, county officials reported this week.
According to the press release, “the Federal Emergency Management Agency, in partnership with the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, the United States Small Business Administration (SBA), and Mendocino County Disaster Recovery and
OES have been tracking, documenting, and verifying storm damages for several weeks with the goal of bringing additional recovery resources to Mendocino County.”
During the latest meeting of the Ukiah City Council Feb. 1, city officials reported that while “most of the damage was on the (Mendocino Coast),” there were four significant instances of damage in Ukiah.
The first was a storm drain located between two houses near the Western Hills that the “storm had torn the entire bottom off, so we replaced that,” explained Public Works Director Tim Eriksen, adding that the other three projects would be awaiting FEMA approval. He described those three remaining projects as “two on the golf course, and one on our new section of State Street near the (Bank of America) building.”
City officials explained that the process will be to “make the repairs, do the work, then work with FEMA to get reimbursed.”
Also at the Feb. 1 meeting, Ukiah City Manager Sage Sangiacomo
noted that the bridge Mendocino County used to provide temporary vehicular access to the residents of Creekside Cabins RV Park and Resort near Willits so they could evacuate last month was “an old railcar bridge” that the city used in its Corp Yard, and had provided to the county in response to a mutual aid request.
As of Feb. 2, the county of Mendocino “has been added to the major disaster declaration for California’s severe storms and flooding, (meaning it) has been
approved for both Public Assistance and Individual Assistance to support recovery efforts related to damage and/or losses from the storms that began on Dec. 27, 2022.”
The release also notes that “the county is currently working with State and Federal partners to establish Disaster Recovery Centers, (which are) accessible facilities and mobile offices you can visit to learn more about FEMA and other disaster assistance programs.”