Storm Damage Cost Estimates At More Than $70 Million For Calif. Counties

Preliminary estimates from seven northern California counties put the cost of damage from this winter's storms at more than $70 million.

This is a preliminary total from Colusa ($7 million), Sutter ($11 million - $23 million), Yuba ($15 million), Nevada ($4 million), San Joaquin ($6 million), Tuolomne ($8.5 million) and Mariposa ($1 million) counties.

John Gulserin is with the Nevada County Office of Emergency Services. He says the county could have $4 million in damage from saturation, mudslides, and erosion.

"We had a large sink hole in Grass Valley, another sinkhole in Nevada City, tons of washouts," says Gulserin. "One county road got washed out in January. We did a temporary repair and it was washed out again in February. A lot of trees down, some damages to our wastewater facility, mostly trees falling into the facility."

In Sutter County, damage to Yuba City's drinking and wastewater systems could total $20 million dollars.

Yuba County says road repair and debris removal could total $15 million.

And in Colusa County, floodwaters did most of the damage.

Janice Bell is with the Colusa County Office of Emergency Services.

"Water inundated most of the homes in a 9-block area in Maxwell," says Bell. "People were not aware of it and woke up to the sheriffs department knocking on their doors rescuing them by boat."

Bell says damage to an elementary school, a sheriff's substation, roads and 78 homes could total $7 million.

Federal Emergency Management Agency representatives have been touring flooded areas in recent days.

The counties expect the process of reimbursement to take several months.