REPORT TO SHASTA COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS

BOARD MEETING DATE:  September  18, 2018
CATEGORY:  Regular - Law and Justice-6.

SUBJECT:

Continuation of Local Emergency Proclamation: Carr Fire

Supervisorial District No. :  1, 2, and 4

DEPARTMENT CONTACT:  Tom Bosenko, Sheriff-Coroner (530) 245-6167

STAFF REPORT APPROVED BY:  Tom Bosenko, Sheriff-Coroner

RECOMMENDATION

Adopt a resolution which recognizes that the circumstances and factors that led to the July 30, 2018 ratification of a local emergency proclamation due to the wildland fire identified as the "Carr Fire" have not been resolved and that there is a need for continuation of the local emergency proclamation.

SUMMARY

There is a need for the Carr Fire local emergency proclamation to be continued.

DISCUSSION

The Shasta County Director of Emergency Services proclaimed a local emergency on July 26, 2018 due to the wildland fire identified as the “Carr Fire”. On that same day, State of California Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr., proclaimed a state of emergency in Shasta County. On July 30, 2018 the Shasta County Board of Supervisors ratified the Shasta County Director of Emergency Services local emergency proclamation pursuant to California Government Code Section 8630.  On August 4, 2018 a Presidential Major Disaster Declaration was declared. After burning 229,651 acres, 100 percent containment of the Carr Fire was acheived on August 30, 2018. This was good news to a weary community and to the firefighters and first responders working the fire. However, resources are still being committed to this incident for cleanup.

At one point during this incident there were over 40,000 people evacuated from their homes. The Sheriff's Office and numerous allied law enforcement agencies evacuated the areas in and around French Gulch, Old Shasta, Keswick, Igo/Ono, the City of Shasta Lake, and parts of Redding. The Carr Fire also impacted neighboring Trinity County.

Surveys of fire damage stand at 1,604 structures destroyed, of which 1,079 were residential structures. The Carr Fire has also damaged 277 structures, 190 of which were residential structures.  Numerous guardrails, power poles, power lines and other public and private infrastructure were damaged or destroyed. Unfortunately, eight deaths are also associated with the Carr Fire.

The Carr Fire currently stands as the seventh largest wildfire in California since 1932, when accurate records began to be kept, and has been the most destructive fire in Shasta County history; however, it is only one of several fires that have impacted Shasta County in these last couple months. Currently, the “Delta Fire” which began on September 5, 2018 is burning primarily on US Forest Service land, has burned 47,110 acres, damaged or destroyed 14 residential structures and 21 outbuildings, and is 5 percent contained due to burning to the western edge of the Hirz Fire. The “Hirz Fire”, began on August 9, 2018 and is burning on US Forest Service land. Firefighting efforts on the Hirz Fire were successful in achieving one-hundred percent containment on September 10, 2018 after consuming 46,150 acres. Several other smaller fires that started in the period between early August and now have, fortunately, been fully contained but fire danger is still very high and weather conditions are still presenting challenges to containment of current fires.

While the Carr Fire was 100 percent contained as of August 30, 2018 it is recommended the local emergency proclamation be continued as cleanup and recovery efforts are of such scope that it is beyond the control of the services, personnel, equipment, and facilities of Shasta County. Cleanup and recovery efforts within the footprint of the Carr Fire are necessary and ongoing to mitigate potential threats to the safety of the public.

The public is reminded to stay vigilant on current fire conditions, to adhere to road closures, and follow any evacuation warnings for all current and future fires that might occur.

ALTERNATIVES

The Board may suggest modifications to the resolution so long as the County meets the required timeline for approving the resolution.

OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT

Other agency involvement during the course of this incident has included, but is not limited to, the Shasta County Department of Public Works, Shasta County Resource Management, Shasta County Fire/CAL FIRE, California Highway Patrol, Redding Police Department, California Office of Emergency Services, California Department of Transportation, Whiskeytown National Park Service, US Forest Service, Anderson Police Department, Redding Fire Department, Happy Valley Fire Department, Mountain Gate Fire Department, Shasta County Marshal, Shasta County Probation Department, and the Bureau of Land Management. County Counsel has approved the resolution as to form.  The recommendation has been reviewed by the County Administrative Office.

FINANCING

The costs associated with this incident are unprecedented for Shasta County and have exceeded the resources available to the impacted local governments. Due to the Governor’s proclamation and the Presidential major disaster declaration, eligible costs are shared between the federal, state, and local governments. The federal share is 75 percent. The remaining 25 percent is shared between the state and local government with the state share being 75 percent. For eligible Carr Fire related costs that have been documented sufficiently for submission to the California Office of Emergency Services (CalOES) and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)  the final share for the County after those match percentages is 6.25 percent. County staff are working to track both eligible and non-eligible costs so as to better understand all the fiscal impacts of this incident to the County. The full General Fund impact is unknown at this time.