Los Angeles County Board ratifies local emergency after late-December storm, cites sewage spill and damage estimates

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted 5-0 on Dec. 31 to ratify a proclamation of local emergency for the late-December winter storm, a measure the chair said will help the county mobilize resources, request mutual aid and pursue state and federal assistance.

Ken McGowan, director for the Office of Emergency Management, told the board the county is collecting initial damage estimates from departments and the 88 cities and will transmit consolidated figures to the state. "For LA County, it's over $46,000,000 that we have to meet in all of those costs," he said, referring to the public-assistance threshold for reimbursement of government emergency response, debris removal and infrastructure impacts. He added the state uses a separate indicator (about $70,000,000) when deciding whether to…