Port Hueneme, Oxnard continue storm recovery efforts

Brian J. Varela, Ventura County Star
Updated ·2 min read
Chris Gray helps her mother move items out of her garage at the Hueneme Bay community in Port Hueneme on Dec. 21. The garage was inundated with about 2 feet of water.
Chris Gray helps her mother move items out of her garage at the Hueneme Bay community in Port Hueneme on Dec. 21. The garage was inundated with about 2 feet of water.

Port Hueneme and Oxnard officials are continuing efforts to help residents recover from last month’s storms, which damaged more than 400 residential properties in Ventura County.

In a Tuesday night meeting, the Port Hueneme City Council approved a letter to California’s Office of Emergency Services seeking help with state and federal disaster relief funds.

“There’s a lot of people who need a lot of help,” Port Hueneme City Manager James Vega said during the meeting.

Almost simultaneously, the Oxnard City Council ratified three orders by City Manager Alex Nguyen that assist residents with flood recovery.

In the early hours of Dec. 21., the county was hit with heavy rainfall. The two coastal cities felt the brunt of the storm.

In Port Hueneme, an estimated 3.17 inches of rain fell in a single hour that morning, officials said. Oxnard saw about 4.5 inches in a two-hour period.

In his letter to the state, Vega requested assistance getting funds through the California Disaster Assistance Act and from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

The Small Business Administration began helping residents apply for disaster loans on Saturday, but FEMA funding seems unlikely. Only 45 structures countywide suffered major damage, officials said. That's far below the minimum of 1,200 seriously damaged or destroyed buildings to trigger FEMA's individual assistance program.

“The FEMA challenge feels like an uphill battle at this point,” Vega said.

In Oxnard, the ratified orders will help residents throughout the city and also target some living at a damaged apartment complex.

One will help relocate residents in 18 units at the Marina Vista Apartments. The units were deemed uninhabitable on Jan. 3. Over 50 residents were displaced, a city report said. The cost of the temporary relocation isn't known, staff said.

Another order waived fees for damaged or lost trash cans.

The third order suspended street sweeping citations through Feb. 12 for vehicles that are inoperable because of storm damage.

The council also extended a 10% cap on price increases for some goods and services for an additional 30 days to prevent price gouging during the local emergency.

Oxnard's city manager declared a local emergency on Dec. 27, which was later ratified by the council on Jan. 2. Port Hueneme declared a local emergency on Dec. 21, with the council ratifying the declaration on Dec. 27.

Brian J. Varela covers Oxnard, Port Hueneme and Camarillo. He can be reached at brian.varela@vcstar.com or at 805-477-8014. You can also find him on Twitter @BrianVarela805.

This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Port Hueneme, Oxnard continue storm recovery efforts