Local officials are still pushing for additional state and federal help with costs for cleaning up after the Nov. 7 hangar fire in Tustin. Both the city and the county extended their emergency proclamations on Tuesday.
City leaders have been frustrated with the speed at which the Navy, which owns the hangar and the surrounding site, has moved in committing money. The Navy has so far agreed to give the city $11 million, while the city has incurred $54.1 million in contractor costs for disaster response and cleanup efforts, according to a letter from Nicole Bernard, the acting city manager.
Officials from the service have said multiple times it fully intends to pay for remediation efforts, but the process takes time.
Tuesday’s votes by the Tustin City Council and the OC Board of Supervisors extend calls for Gov. Gavin Newsom to issue a proclamation to get disaster aid.
“I can tell you that we are very frustrated,” Tustin Mayor Austin Lumbard said. “The city didn’t hesitate to take action on behalf of the Navy when the fire broke out. It’s long past time for the governor to step up, and ultimately the Navy to do the same and let us know when we will be fully reimbursed and made whole.”
Lumbard said city officials met with the state’s Office of Emergency Services on Dec. 18 and were told the agency viewed a state of emergency as unnecessary since the Navy was identified as a responsible party. Lumbard said there have been other incidents where a financially responsible party had been identified, such as the Huntington Beach oil spill, and the governor still issued a proclamation.
At one point, in the first week after the fire began, Cal OES told the county’s Emergency Management Division director, Michelle Anderson, that the 10 Freeway fire in Los Angeles County that occurred on Nov. 11 was taking precedence, according to county records obtained.
Bernard, in a Dec. 29 letter to the Cal OES Director Nancy Ward, said the city faces the risk of a fiscal emergency if not provided immediate financial support from state and federal partners.
She said a governor’s proclamation could get Tustin state funding from the California Disaster Assistance Act and set the stage for a presidential declaration of emergency, which could provide financial support for public agencies and residents through the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Lumbard said the city still hasn’t received a response to the letter.
At the county’s Board of Supervisors meeting, Second District Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento said he and Third District Supervisor Don Wagner sent a letter dated Jan. 8 to Newsom asking him to declare the state of emergency for the city to qualify for FEMA funds and other support.
More than 1,400 homes have been affected by the fire, according to the city. Residents paid out of pocket to temporarily move away when there were concerns about air quality and test for asbestos and heavy metals at their homes.
The city has cleaned asbestos debris from people’s yards and has promised to test soil and dust at homes for asbestos and lead.
A spokesperson with Cal OES did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Anderson, who has had discussions with Cal OES, said officials are primarily counting on the Navy to provide financial support but might need other options.
“We are still trying to keep the mechanism open for either Cal OES or FEMA, if for some reason the Navy can’t come through with funding, because that might depend on what their appropriations are,” Anderson said. “We want to be sure that we keep that avenue open as an option in the future.”
Anderson added that Cal OES’s Ward has had conversations with the Navy to ensure they understand the significance of the incident.
Source: Orange County Register
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