- Elizabeth Larson
- Posted On
Supervisors approve LNU Lightning Complex emergency declaration
Martin issued the declaration on Aug. 20, when the fire – which began three days earlier – was 131,000 acres in size with no containment.
By Tuesday night, several hours after the declaration was ratified, the fire had reached 356,326 acres, with containment at 27 percent.
It has destroyed nearly 1,000 structures and killed five people, three in Napa County and two in Solano County, plus four civilian injuries, officials reported.
The sheriff said he declared the incident an emergency that also exceeded the county’s response capacity.
Martin said the fire resulted in mandatory evacuations for Jerusalem Valley, Jericho Valley and Hidden Valley Lake, with evacuation orders for other areas around Middletown and Lower Lake following later.
Altogether, Martin estimated that about 7,000 Lake County residents are impacted by the evacuation orders.
The county has opened an operations center for the fires that is running concurrently with one set up to address the COVID-19 pandemic, Martin explained. An evacuation location and temporary evacuation point also have been established.
The county requested mutual aid from out-of-county law enforcement agencies to patrol the evacuation area, and in addition to financial impacts there are air quality issues resulting from the complex, Martin said.
The supervisors approved the resolution ratifying the declaration with no additional discussion.
Separately, the board approved County Librarian Christopher Veach’s decision to close the Middletown Library on Aug. 20. It’s remained closed since then; he had asked the board if it supported that action and the supervisors said they did.
Declaration positions county for emergency funding
Emergency declarations like the one the board approved on Tuesday position the county to pursue disaster funding from state and federal officials.
It’s an action county officials have become very familiar with over the past five years, as they’ve declared numerous disasters due to previous major wildland fires, floods and the COVID-19 pandemic.
On Saturday, President Donald Trump approved Gov. Gavin Newsom’s request for a Presidential Major Disaster Declaration to bolster California’s emergency response to the wildfires burning in Lake, Napa, San Mateo, Santa Cruz, Solano, Sonoma and Yolo counties.
On the same day, members of Congress for the region including Mike Thompson and John Garamendi, who represent Lake County, announced that the Federal Emergency Management Agency had approved both Individual Assistance and Public Assistance funds for Lake, Napa, Solano, Sonoma and Yolo counties.
“This assistance will be critical to our efforts to rebuild and recover and I will continue to fight to ensure that we have all available federal resources,” Thompson said.
Garamendi said he would work with Thompson to make sure local communities get the resources they need to make “a swift and full recovery.”
FEMA approved Category B Public Assistance for Lake County, which provides assistance for “emergency work and the repair or replacement of disaster-damaged facilities.” The federal government covers 75 percent of the costs, and the state and local governments split the remaining 25 percent.
Also approved was Individual Assistance, which will be granted to individuals to help rebuild, repair and replace housing and assist with other disaster-related expenses.
To apply online visit www.disasterassistance.gov or call 1-800-621-3362. Those who have a speech disability or hearing loss and use TTY, should call 1-800-462-7585 directly; for those who use 711 or Video Relay Service (VRS), call 1-800-621-3362.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.