Schwarzenegger to Bush: Declare California a Disaster Area

The governor sent off a letter to President Bush today asking that he consider declaring parts of the state a disaster after following the late December storms: I request that you declare a major disaster for the State of California as a result of a series of warm Pacific storms that struck California beginning on December 19, 2005 and continuing through the New Year's weekend, wrote Schwarzenegger. This series of powerful winter storms brought heavy rain throughout the state along with high winds, mudslides, and flooding. Northern California counties bore the brunt of the storms, with rainfall totals in the northern counties averaging four inches in a 24-hour period. Levee overtopping, breaching, and river flooding occurred in more than a dozen coastal and inland counties, including the Russian, Napa, Feather, and Sacramento rivers, as well as flooding of numerous small creeks that impacted additional counties, forcing more than 375 individuals to seek services at American Red Cross shelters. The California Department of Water Resources closely monitored the water levels and levees throughout the state and was forced to open 10 gates on the Sacramento weir for the first time since 1997. He goes on with more examples. You can read the full letter here.