Gov. Gavin Newsom and other officials at the State Operations Center in Mather on Feb. 4, 2024. (Office of the Governor of California)
California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday extended the state of emergency he had previously declared in response to February’s winter storms to include 11 more counties.
The proclamation now also covers Alameda, Butte, Glenn, Lake, Mendocino, Monterey, Sacramento, San Francisco, Santa Cruz, Sonoma and Sutter counties.
Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties were initially covered when the proclamation was first announced in February.
Due to heavy rainfall, a state of emergency had already been issued for San Diego and Ventura counties on Jan. 23.
The governor also requested a “Presidential Major Disaster Declaration for several communities impacted by widespread flooding, mudslides and debris flows during the storms,” Newsom’s office said.
If the declaration is approved, federal funds would be available to state, tribal, and local governments to cover emergency response and recovery costs.
The money would specifically benefit Butte, Glenn, Los Angeles, Monterey, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz, Sutter, and Ventura counties.
The declaration also asks for funding for hazard mitigation efforts statewide.
Another storm is expected to arrive in Southern California Friday night and bring “spotty” showers throughout the weekend.
The system will drop a lot of rain on Northern California but will not have a direct hit here in SoCal.
“We’re just getting the tail end of the cold front … it will be really spotty in nature but will bring us some light to moderate showers,” according to KTLA Meteorologist Henry DiCarlo.
Luckly, the stormy weather is expected to be clear by Monday, according to the National Weather Service.
