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Council ratifies local emergency declaration for Jan. 20 wind-and-fire event; staff to seek county/state FEMA reimbursement
Summary
San Gabriel ratified a local emergency proclamation tied to the January wind-and-fire events that produced ash, damaged infrastructure and regional evacuations. The council approved ratification 5-0 to preserve eligibility for reimbursement and to maintain readiness for additional storms and debris-flow risk.
The San Gabriel City Council unanimously ratified a proclamation of local emergency tied to the January 20 wind-and-fire events that produced regional fires, ash fall and infrastructure impacts.
Fire Chief Steve Wallace briefed the council on the region's weather forecasts and the operational response. He said individual agencies prepositioned resources in advance of a forecasted mountain wave and damaging Santa Ana winds. The Palisades and Eaton Canyon fires produced rapid fire spread; Verdugo Dispatch moved to emergency modes and local fire agencies, including San Gabriel, responded to numerous vegetation fires, downed trees and power-line incidents.
Chief Wallace said the local damage estimate the city submitted to Los Angeles County for initial inclusion in county damage claims was about $108,000 in staff time and infrastructure-related costs. He reported the larger regional totals included thousands of destroyed and damaged structures in adjacent communities (he stated "over 9,000 structures were destroyed and over a thousand damaged" in the Altadena/Pasadena area) and an estimated fire footprint of roughly 14,000 acres, with containment reported at about 87'to-89 percent at the time of the presentation.
The city manager (acting director of emergency services, per municipal code) had executed a local emergency proclamation on January 20; council ratification within seven days preserves the proclamation's force and the city's eligibility to pursue county/state assistance and FEMA reimbursement channels. Chief Wallace said ash, falling debris and poor air quality remain ongoing concerns and forecasted late-week storms could increase debris-flow and flooding risks downstream; staff recommended ratifying the proclamation to maintain readiness and access to mutual-aid cost recovery.
Vice Mayor Menchaca moved to ratify the proclamation; Council Member Chen seconded. The motion passed 5-0.
