Winter storms exact an economic, human toll on Lodi area

Jan. 20—San Joaquin County officials announced this week that residents are now eligible to apply for financial assistance and direct services through the Federal Emergency Management Agency as a result of the storms that hit Northern California in recent weeks.

The county was added to the Department of Homeland Security's FEMA major disaster declaration for the State of California on Thursday.

The original declaration was issued on Jan. 14 and included only Sacramento, Merced, and Santa Cruz counties.

"This is the news we have been waiting to receive," San Joaquin County Office of Emergency Services director Tiffany Heyer said in a media statement. "Individuals who have experienced storm damage caused by flooding, wind, and other storm-related causes may now qualify for much needed individual assistance."

FEMA provides individual assistance to residents and families who have experienced losses due to disasters.

Public assistance can reimburse for emergency protective measures, debris removal, and infrastructure repairs or replacement needed due to disaster-related damage.

The county said a disaster recovery center will be established in the coming days to provide residents with resources and information.

In the meantime, individuals can apply for assistance online by visiting disasterassistance.gov, through the FEMA mobile app, or by calling 800-621-3362.

Individuals will be asked to take photographs of the damage sustained by homes and belongings and make a list of damaged or lost items. If individuals have insurance, they must file a claim with their insurance company.

The assistance announcement comes as students at Houston and Joe Serna schools returned to class today after three days of canceled classes due to flooding in the Acampo area.

Classrooms at the two schools were flooded, and it is unknown if students will have to make up three days of class later in the year.

The district closed the campuses Monday as a result of flooding caused by another round of atmospheric rivers that hit Northern California over the weekend.

The storm caused massive flooding at the Arbor Mobile Home Park, located at 19690 Highway 99 frontage road Sunday, forcing the evacuation of some 400 residents.

The San Joaquin County Sheriff's Office was forced to close Woodbridge Road east of Highway 99 just after noon on Sunday due to the flooding.

The waters eventually made their way north, causing Caltrans to close both directions of the highway in both directions between Turner and Peltier roads.

Houston and Serna schools are located on Acampo Road, just east of the Highway 99 interchange.

During Wednesday's Lodi City Council meeting, city manager Steve Schwabauer praised staff for its efforts to restore power and remove downed trees and power lines during the last five weeks of storms.

"We absolutely had a lot of street flooding, we lost a lot of trees, we had some fires, but we had no water in homes," he said. "We did have some homes destroyed by falling trees, we had some vehicles destroyed by falling trees. But our staff worked incredible hard, from top to bottom, to ensure that our community was able to escape those storms with far less damage than Stockton, far less damage than we saw in Sacramento, and in some of our surrounding communities."

Schwabauer said the Lodi Fire and Police departments responded to more than 50 weather-related calls that included 15 vehicle accidents and two fires caused by falling trees. There are still 50 outstanding reports between the two departments that are still being completed, he said.

Lodi Electric Utility crews logged more than 200 hours of overtime as they worked to restore power to thousands of residents on New Year's weekend.

Power went out across the city on New Year's Eve, and Schwabauer said crews were able restore electricity within 24 hours.

"Once they got the power on, our electric utility then sent one of our crews and a contracted crew to help SMUD restore power, which had power out in some locations for more than a week," he said. "Our electric utility went over and above to ensure we were able to get power back on in the community and keep the power on."

Schwabauer said public works crews also logged more than 200 hours of overtime, removing some 50 street trees that were lost due to the high winds.

In addition, crews set up four temporary pumps in drainage basins to handle a level of water Schwabauer said the city hadn't seen in more than 130 years.

Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services staff logged more than 200 hours of overtime as well, inspecting trees in the parks to determine if they were safe to reopen.

More than 100 trees were lost in the parks, Schwabauer said.

The city began reopening parks Thursday on a phased-in basis.

"It was a tremendous effort from the entire community," he said. "There was a lot of reporting from the public. We had a lot of trees at risk. The trees inspected at Vinewood, that was all public reporting brought to our attention."

Councilman Alan Nakanishi suggested staff distribute as much information as it could on the storm to the public and what was done to mitigate damage.

He said many in the community were unaware just how much work staff undertook during the storms.

"There was a section of the city saying 'why aren't' you guys doing anything,'" he said. "They don't realize it was a major flood. If we put something together, it will be good for everybody."

Vice Mayor Lisa Craig said she saw a lot of praise from the community on social media about the city's response.

Schwabauer said staff will return to a future meeting with a written report of the damage, as well as release the report to the public.

Craig said she hoped the report included what city staff and the community are continuing to do in the aftermath of the storms. She also added her appreciation to city staff for the work they put in to remove downed trees and power lines.

"I saw a lot of social media postings saying very good things," she said. "(The city was) out there, doing work, cleaning things away. There were also a lot of comments about a lot of sad losses at the parks. I very much appreciate the efforts on that."

Disaster recovery center opens in Galt

Sacramento County announced on Thursday that a disaster recovery center has been opened at the Chabolla Community Center, 600 Chabolla Ave. in Galt.

Residents affected by the storms and subsequent flooding can update FEMA applications and learn about state and community programs and other available assistance.

Specialists will clarify FEMA information; explain the rental assistance available to homeowners and renters; fax requested documents to a FEMA processing center; and scan or copy new information or documents needed for case files.

The center will be open daily from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

If you cannot make it to the recovery center, visit disaster assistance.gov, use the FEMA mobile app, or call 800-621-3362.