REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF THE COUNTY OF SAN BERNARDINO
AND RECORD OF ACTION
November 12, 2020
FROM
LEONARD X. HERNANDEZ, Chief Executive Officer, County Administrative Office
SUBJECT
Title v
Proclamation of Local Emergency - 2020 October Extreme Weather Wind Event
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
1. Ratify action taken by the Director of Emergency Services on November 10, 2020 proclaiming the existence of a local emergency as a result of the extreme weather wind event that started on October 26, 2020 and impacted San Bernardino County.
2. Continue the local emergency, which still exists and continues to be an emergency, for an additional period in accordance with Government Code section 8630(c).
(Presenter: Daniel Munoz, Emergency Services Manager, 356-3998)
Body
COUNTY AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER GOALS & OBJECTIVES
Operate in a Fiscally-Responsible and Business-Like Manner.
Ensure Development of a Well-Planned, Balanced, and Sustainable County.
Provide for the Safety, Health and Social Service Needs of County Residents.
Pursue County Goals and Objectives by Working with Other Agencies.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Approval of this item will not result in the use of additional Discretionary General Funding (Net County Cost) as there is no cost or financial impact associated with ratifying the proclamation and continuing this local emergency. However, the County has incurred significant costs resulting from this local emergency. The preliminary damage estimate is still under review. This estimate includes damage to public roadways, sidewalks, fencing, block walls, traffic signals, as well as other costs including debris removal. These costs, which are not fully determined at this time, could potentially require the use of additional Discretionary General Funding. Should this occur, a future item will be submitted to the Board of Supervisors (Board) for approval.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
October 26, 2020 was the start of an extreme weather wind event that impacted the entire County. This event damaged public roadways, sidewalks, fencing, block walls, traffic signals, and private property; caused the loss of power for some sections of the County, required the temporary closure of runways and taxiways at Ontario International Airport, and will require an extensive and possible prolonged period of widespread clean-up before areas can return to normal functions. The extreme weather wind event also resulted in the Blue Ridge Fire, a 13,694 acre wind-driven vegetation fire that quickly moved into San Bernardino County requiring the evacuation and sheltering of residents, the sheltering of multiple small and large animals, the closure of Chino Hills State Park, and the temporary closure of State Route 71.
Because of the extensive damage resulting from this extreme weather wind event, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), while serving as the Director of Emergency Services, proclaimed the existence of a local emergency on November 5, 2020. Subsequently, on November 10, 2020, the CEO updated the proclamation to include a request to declare of state of emergency for this incident. Approval of this item will ratify that action taken by the CEO and will continue the local emergency as conditions threatening the safety of persons and property may still exist.
Pursuant to Government Code section 8630(C), the Board shall review the need for continuing the local emergency at least once every 60 days until the Board terminates the local emergency.
PROCUREMENT
N/A
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by County Counsel (Miles Kowalski, Deputy County Counsel, 387-
3760) on November 6, 2020; Finance (Tom Forster, Administrative Analyst, 387-4635) on November 6, 2020; and County Finance and Administration (Matthew Erickson, County Chief Financial Officer, 387-5423) on November 6, 2020.