RIVERSIDE – Riverside County supervisors are slated today to approve a resolution declaring a local state of emergency stemming from storm damage in the southern Coachella Valley, where electrical transmission lines were knocked down during high winds and flooding.
The monsoonal thunderstorms pounded the area served by the Imperial Irrigation District on Aug. 30, mainly impacting the area around North Shore.
According to the Riverside County Emergency Management Department, 33 utility poles were toppled in gale-force winds, and flash floods caused additional property damage.
About 1,000 residents lost power, and the IID is continuing with repairs to the utility infrastructure in the wake of the storms, EMD officials said.
The IID declared its own emergency immediately after the storms dissipated, and on Sept. 8, EMD Director Bruce Barton declared one affirming the IID’s. However, the EMD declaration is valid for only a week before it expires, requiring the full Board of Supervisors to support the local emergency with its own proclamation.
By submitting that to the California Office of Emergency Services, the IID will be eligible to receive disaster grants to pay for repairs.
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