City council approves recovery steps after wind and wildfire damage; staff gives $358 million preliminary loss estimate

The City Council on Jan. 22 approved several agenda items tied to emergency response and recovery and heard a preliminary estimate that the January wind-and-wildfire event caused about $358 million in initial costs and damage.

City officials said the $358 million figure is an early estimate covering emergency response, employee overtime and initial infrastructure and facilities damage from Jan. 7–10. Mike Sable, identified in the meeting as a city official, told council members the estimate is preliminary and will be refined as departments complete on‑site evaluations and FEMA (referred to in the meeting as “FIMA”) conducts its review.

Why it matters: The council must front the costs of response and cleanup and then seek federal and state reimbursement. Staff warned that while some categories of work may be reimbursed at 100 percent for a limited time, most recovery projects are subject to cost‑share rules (staff described typical federal/state models where FEMA covers about 75 percent, leaving the city responsible for a portion of costs until reimbursements arrive). The council and staff discussed short‑term financing, hiring needs, and a proposal to create a special recovery committee to coordinate short‑ and long‑term rebuilding.

Council vote summary and next steps City staff described immediate steps already taken: submission of an initial reimbursement estimate to FEMA, coordination with Cal OES and state officials, and internal work to develop project‑level scopes that FEMA will review. Staff said FEMA’s inspection and project scoping work is likely to begin in February and that the city will continue to refine cost estimates as inspectors and engineers visit damaged sites.

Officials stressed timing and cash flow risks. Staff said the city…