Santa Cruz Supes Declare Local Emergency After Atmospheric River Storm Causes $3M In Damage

SANTA CRUZ (CBS SF) – The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday ratified the proclamation of a local emergency that will allow them to seek state assistance to fund repairs to more than $3 million in damage caused by an "atmospheric river" storm earlier this month.

The Dec. 13 storm caused an estimated $3.13 million in damage to county roads and other infrastructure.

Santa Cruz County will now be able to seek disaster assistance funding under the California Disaster Assistance Act following the Board of Supervisors' unanimous vote at a special meeting Tuesday.

Dave Reid, director of the county's Office of Response, Recovery and Resilience, said the loss of part of Lodge Road in Boulder Creek, within the burn scar from the CZU Lightning Complex wildfires last year, was "one of the more significant failures" that resulted from the Dec. 13 storm.

Other locations with damage were on Granite Creek Road, Valencia Road, Casserly Road, Highland Way and Two Bar Road. Reid showed the supervisors video footage of a debris flow along Foreman Creek where several homes were evacuated during the storm.

Supervisor Bruce McPherson and others thanked public works crews with the county for quickly clearing and fixing affected roads.