California Declares 13-County State Of Emergency As More Winter Storms Hit

By Ria Roebuck Joseph | Center Square contributor, The Center Square California

March 2, 2023

(The Center Square) - With much of northern and central California under winter storm watch and freeze warnings today, Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency “to support disaster response and relief in the counties of Amador, Kern, Los Angeles, Madera, Mariposa, Mono, Nevada, San Bernardino, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Sierra, Sonoma and Tulare, recovering from recent storms."

The declaration noted the severe winter storms arriving in late February “bringing damaging winds and historic precipitation, including snowfall in areas unaccustomed to snow. These storms damaged and forced the closure of federal and state highways and roads and continue to threaten critical infrastructure.”

Over a dozen highways and roads were affected by sectional closures due to flooding and snowfall.

California began the year with a number of storms - atmospheric rivers that brought record-breaking rainfalls - lasting several weeks prompting the Governor to declare the first state of emergency on January 4.

Throughout the opening weeks of the new year, Newsom visited storm impacted areas, and secured a Presidential Major Disaster Declaration. He also made provision for residents to declare a disaster loss and have extra time to file taxes.

The Governor’s actions today bring state support to county-led emergency response efforts and coordinate mutual aid from neighboring jurisdictions by activating the State Operations Center, in anticipation of additional storms threatening to bring strong winds, blizzard conditions, above normal precipitation, and unusually cold temperatures to counties across the state.

“Significant numbers of state personnel are on the ground supporting San Bernardino County, including from the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES), Caltrans and the California Highway Patrol, working closely with the county-led Incident Command to rapidly deploy resources and address emergency management needs,” a release from the governor’s office said.

Two shelters are being made available for residents of San Bernardino displaced by the storm as Cal OES coordinates with law enforcement to escort food, water and power crews to affected communities.

Snow removal and road clearings are being conducted by private companies contracted by the state, and the California National Guard is on alert to bring support wherever needed.

The focus of the work of The Center Square California is state and local-level government and economic reporting that approaches stories with a taxpayer sensibility.