Federal Assistance Granted For Orange County, California

SEAL BEACH, CA — From downed trees, power lines, to washed out roads, the storm cleanup from January and February 2017's extreme weather was massive.

Orange County will be able to receive federal assistance, thanks to President Donald Trump's approval of Gov. Jerry Brown's request and declared a state-of-emergency declaration for counties across California in response to damage from the powerful storms that struck in January.

Trump's order will make federal assistance available to supplement state, local and tribal recovery efforts, along with certain private nonprofit organizations on a cost-sharing basis, in the areas affected by the heavy rainfall that occurred from January 18-23.

Counties eligible for relief are: Orange, Los Angeles, Riverside and San Diego counties, along with the counties of El Dorado, Kern, Mendocino, Napa, Sacramento, San Luis Obispo, San Mateo, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz, Trinity, Tuolumne and Yolo.

The White House also announced that the Federal Emergency Management Agency has named Timothy J. Scranton as the federal coordinating officer for the recovery effort in the affected areas.

Photo, courtesy Martin Hale: Laguna Beach Storm Cleanup