County & City Enjoying Respite Following Tornado Touchdown by Lake Hogan, Awaits Inclusion in Governor’s State of Emergency

San Andreas, CA…County, City, CalTrans, and PG&E emergency operations staff are thankful for a day of respite from working around the clock to keep roadways open, communities safe, and our power running. As of last night, PG&E has restored power to approximately 4,800 customers and power restoration efforts continue.

The National Weather Service confirmed that at approximately 4:10AM on January 10, 2023, a brief EF1 (least destructive) level tornado touched down near a small reservoir and Hogan Dam Road, in Valley Springs. It continued in a northeasterly direction for approximately 0.4 miles with a path width of 50 yards and max winds of 90 MPH. It caused extensive tree damage to white oak and pine trees with trees uprooted and topped. Thankfully no one was hurt.

Future weather impacts for our area:
• Periods of moderate to heavy rain and high mountain snow in the Coastal Range & Sierra with renewed flooding concerns today – tomorrow
• Wet pattern will continue into early next week with renewed flooding concerns and mountain travel impacts
• Continued rises on area creeks and streams; limited mainstem river flooding expected the rest of this week
• Potential for storm track to shift north of California middle to end of next week

More information can be found on the County’s Emergency Operations webpage at https://www.calaverasgov.us/Calaveras-County/Emergency-Operations

Current County and City Road impacts are:
• Baldwin Lane to SR26 to Berkesey, Valley Springs, CA – undetermined reopening date
• White Road @ SR26, Valley Springs, CA – undetermined reopening date
• Hunt Road closed at 10121 Block to Landfill, Valley Springs, CA – undermined reopening date
• Gwin Mine Road closed Rich Gulch Trail to Paloma, Paloma, CA – undermined reopening date
• HWY 4 and Waverly Rd., Farmington, CA – long term closure
• Williams St., Murphys, CA – partial closure

For real-time road conditions in Calaveras County can be found at the CA Highway Patrol webpage at https://www.chp.ca.gov/traffic. Click the communications centers dropdown menu and select Stockton. It is important to remember that during major storm events if you don’t need to drive – please don’t. Avoid hazardous road conditions and “Don’t Drown – Turn Around”. Please be aware of road workers, utility crews, and first responders. Let’s stay safe.

The County and City are anxiously awaiting to be included in the Governor’s State of Emergency Declaration list of counties severely impacted by recent storm events. Additionally, according to the California Department of Insurance (CDI) California law only allows a moratorium on non-renewals for declared “wildfire” emergencies.

However, due to the Governor’s declared winter storm emergency, other consumer protections apply. Homeowners and renters who have been forced to evacuate because of the windstorm or windstorm damage may have additional living expense coverage under their homeowner policy which typically includes food, housing and other costs caused by the evacuation. Also, insurance companies must offer a 60-day grace period for policy payments in areas affected by the declared emergency. For more information, please contact your insurance company or contact CDI at 1-800-927-4357.
The County and City continue to remind businesses and residents who have experienced damages from winter storms and flooding events, to please report that information to the online damage assessment reporting portal links below. If you do not have internet access, please call the Community Information Line at 209-754-2855.

Damage assessment threshold criteria for the Calaveras County Assessors tax/calamity relief is $10,000 of property damage. The California Office of Emergency Services (CalOES) threshold for damage reporting is at least 25 homes and/or businesses or other eligible institutions, each sustaining uninsured losses of at least 40 percent or more of the estimated fair replacement value or pre-disaster fair market value of the damaged property. Damages must be confirmed through a state inspector during a formal Property Damage Assessment (PDA).

The County is working with CalOES to determine whether the threshold for a Small Business Administration disaster declaration has been met.

Note: homes and businesses can include renters and home based businesses; a rental property can be counted as a business and as a renter; when assessing apartments, each unit with at least 40 percent of uninsured personal property losses will be counted as one.

Below are the links to the County and City online storm damage reporting pages.
The County’s on online storm damage information portal and fillable forms are located at:
https://www.calaverasgov.us/Calaveras-County/Emergency-Operations
The City’s online storm damage information portal and fillable forms are located at: https://angelscamp.gov/emergency-operations/

It is extremely important that owners and renters of residential and commercial properties document and report damages/costs they have incurred. This includes damage to private roads, culverts, retaining walls, etc. The County and City will also be sending out mailers to those who may have been impact

Those that may have been displaced from their homes during storm event and that need temporary housing should call the Community Call Center at 209-754-2855 for assistance. They are available daily from 9AM to 5PM. The call center will be available to answer questions, provide information on shelters, and additional resources. Additional resources include:
• County snowplow information line 209-754-6017.
• Public Works Roads line 209-754-6401 more information can be found at https://publicworks.calaverasgov.us/Winter-Road-Information
• Calaveras County Animal Services small animal evacuation 209-754-6866
• Calaveras County Fairgrounds large animal/livestock evacuation 209-736-2561
• Calaveras County Community Information Center provides citizens with address specific information https://communityinfo.calaverasgov.us

Sandbag locations: Please limit the number of sandbags to 10 per resident and remember to bring your own shovel.
• Arnold Maintenance Yard, 1119 Linebaugh Rd. (Closes at 3:30pm)
• Glencoe Maintenance Yard, 16151 Hwy 26 (Closes at 3:30pm)
• Calaveras Consolidated Fire Station #3, 6501 Jenny Lind Rd. – NOTE: prefilled sandbags may be available
• Jenny Lind Yard, 11558 Milton Rd. (Closes at 3:30pm)
• San Andreas Rd Yard, 891 Mt Ranch Rd. in the parking lot below the shop building (Closes at 3:30pm)
• Mokelumne Hill Fire Protection District, 8160 Church St., Mokelumne Hill, CA
• Mountain Ranch Community Center Parking lot, 7869 Whiskey Slide Rd.
• Murphys Fire Station, 37 Jones St. – NOTE: prefilled sandbags may be available
• Vista Del Lago Cul-De-Sac near Valley Springs Dental, 313 Vista Del Lago – prefilled sandbags will be available
• Mangili Rd. Cul-De-Sac at Power Up Fitness gym, 145 Mangili Rd. – prefilled sandbags may be available
• Copperopolis Fire Department, 370 Main St.
• West Point Volunteer Fire Department, 195 Spink Rd.
• Angels Camp, sand and sandbags are available at 200 Monte Verda (behind the Police Department)

Remember to sign up for the County’s Emergency Alert System at: https://member.everbridge.net/index/892807736729028/#/signup and visit the County’s Emergency Operations webpage for detailed storm information at https://www.calaverasgov.us/Calaveras-County/Emergency-Operations
The County and City will continue to monitor and report out regarding the situation. For more information contact the Community Call Center at 209-754-2855.
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