BAY AREA QUAKE : U.S., State Agencies Rush Aid to Disaster Areas

Federal and state officials moved quickly Wednesday to help earthquake-stricken Northern California dig itself out and begin to rebuild freeways, bridges, businesses and homes damaged or destroyed by what was probably the nation’s deadliest quake since 1906.

Promising to “take every step and make every effort” to help the Bay Area, President Bush declared the region a disaster area and authorized what could total hundreds of millions of dollars in federal assistance.

“The machinery is working,” Bush said, hoping to shake off criticism of the federal response to two other disasters--the Exxon oil spill and Hurricane Hugo. “We’ve made it very clear we want to be as responsive as possible.”

The Deukmejian Administration, meanwhile, unleashed an army of rescue workers and prepared to tap into state budget reserves to fund the restoration effort. Legislative leaders discussed the possibility of levying a special tax increase.

Gov. George Deukmejian, who was on a trade mission in Europe, flew nonstop from Frankfurt to San Francisco aboard a commercial flight, not taking the Air Force plane that Bush had offered. He toured the quake-damaged area by helicopter and then held a press conference at the Alameda Naval Air Station.

The governor said he was upset and puzzled by the collapse of the Nimitz Freeway and a section of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, which he thought were designed to withstand an earthquake as strong as this one. He said he would order a full inquiry of the freeway collapse.

“I have to say I am greatly displeased and disappointed because I had been under the impression that all of the structures that had been built” after earlier earthquakes were seismically safe, he said. “Even for a non-professional like myself to observe them, you can tell that obviously something went wrong and those support columns either did not have enough reinforcement or they weren’t constructed according to the standards at that time. We don’t know.”

Although he had seen pictures of the destruction on television, Deukmejian said the damage looked much worse in person. “It is just a horrible sight,” he said. “It’s something that you cannot fully appreciate by looking at the television screen.”

Legislative leaders urged members of the state Senate and Assembly to stay close to home in case Deukmejian decides that a special session is needed to respond to the crisis.

But Deukmejian said that, while he will confer with legislative leaders over the next few days, a special session probably will not be needed. Under recent legislation, the governor has legal powers to authorize state agencies to take whatever actions are necessary to provide assistance. He said the state’s $1-billion reserve should be sufficient to fund the relief effort.

Sen. John Garamendi (D-Walnut Grove), chairman of the Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee, said lawmakers may have to consider a special temporary increase in the state gasoline tax to pay for needed repairs. Deukmejian, however, branded such talk “premature.”

Senate President Pro Tem David A. Roberti (D-Los Angeles) also had reservations about a possible tax increase. “We certainly should exhaust all the resources we have before we call on that,” he said.

The deployment of workers and equipment to help the ravaged area dig out was among the most ambitious ever undertaken by state government.

“It is a major mobilization of state resources,” said Tom Mullins, a spokesman for the State Office of Emergency Services. “We’re very pleased with the way all state agencies have responded. They’ve responded according to plan.”

The state police, the Highway Patrol and a company of military police from the California National Guard were sent to maintain security. The California Conservation Corps went to help move rubble. The Department of Water Resources checked dams in the area and found none damaged.

The state fire marshal sent crews to check hospitals and put inspectors in the field to look for leaks in pipelines.

Mental health counselors were dispatched to work with trauma-stricken rescue workers, and the Health Department monitored the medical response, checked the water supply and searched for leaks of toxic materials.

Even prisoners chipped in: inmates from state prison camps were dispatched to Santa Cruz, Hollister and Gilroy to fight fires and help in other recovery efforts.

In all, more than 1,700 people were sent by the state to lend assistance.

On the federal side, White House Press Secretary Marlin Fitzwater announced that $273 million in federal assistance was available for immediate use in California for such things as highway repair, temporary housing and low-cost loans to cover uninsured property.

The money had to be shifted from a $1.1-billion appropriation for the Hurricane Hugo cleanup in the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, South Carolina and North Carolina. The earthquake recovery is expected to cost more than the Hugo effort, and the Administration eventually will have to ask Congress for additional funds to cover both, Fitzwater said.

Bush indicated that special attention would be paid to highway reconstruction, particularly to such crucial transportation links as the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge and the Nimitz Freeway--both of which are part of the federal interstate highway system.

Rep. Vic Fazio (D-Sacramento) said at least $300 million in new funds would be needed. Damage to California highways will exceed $500 million, he said, and Congress will need to remove a $100-million cap on road funds to a single state.

Federal military assistance so far has included the provision of food and water by the Naval Station at Treasure Island to motorists who were stranded when a section of the Bay Bridge collapsed. And Seabees stationed at Alameda Naval Air Station provided heavy equipment to help lift a collapsed Oakland freeway off of crushed cars.

Military hospitals, in an unusual move, threw open their doors to civilians. By late afternoon, Letterman Army Medical Center on the Army’s historic Presidio had treated 24 civilians. An Army field hospital set up shop on Travis Air Force Base.

Ft. Ord provided blood supplies and Naval Station Alameda sent hundreds of bottles of water to the city of Oakland. The warship Gridley, in port in San Francisco harbor, began to desalinize water for the city’s use. And some of the Navy’s heavy-lift helicopters moved backhoes and trucks to stricken areas.

Within the next several days, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will set up “disaster application centers” at 17 sites within the disaster area declared by Bush--the city of San Francisco and the counties of Alameda, Monterey, San Benito, San Mateo, Santa Clara and Santa Cruz.

Other counties may be designated for aid after a damage assessment is completed, FEMA acting director Robert H. Morris said.

The Internal Revenue Service announced it will waive certain penalties if a taxpayer is unable to file a required return or to make a required payment because of earthquake devastation.

An IRS official also said people hit with uninsured property losses may obtain a speeded-up casualty deduction by immediately filing an amended 1988 income tax return rather than waiting to file a 1989 return. The official recommended that such claims be accompanied by a photograph showing damage.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development said it would make available to the homeless in the San Francisco area more than 100 homes that HUD has repossessed.

Further, HUD Secretary Jack Kemp has directed that additional vouchers and certificates be designated for California for rental payments and other relief needs.

Also, Kemp said certain loans may be available for owners of single-family homes and small apartment buildings. Finally, HUD community development block grants can be used for repairing water, sewer, electrical and telephone facilities, the secretary said.

Meanwhile, the Small Business Administration is preparing to make loans and grants to businesses, homeowners and renters in the quake-stricken area.

SBA spokesman Ben Jarrett suggested that the first loan checks will be issued within two weeks of the opening of FEMA disaster application centers.

“From what I’ve been able to determine, quite a few number of applications and funds will be needed,” Jarrett said.

White House officials said Bush might make a quick visit to the ravaged region Friday or Saturday. The President dispatched Vice President Dan Quayle, Quayle’s wife, Marilyn, and Transportation Secretary Samuel Skinner to the area Tuesday night.

The White House is consulting with California state officials and members of the California congressional delegation to arrange a trip by Bush. But White House Chief of Staff John Sununu said Bush realizes a presidential trip could pose problems for the disaster area and would not make the trip until persuaded that “he won’t be a burden to those who have obligations in the aftermath of the earthquake.”

Daniel Weintraub reported from Sacramento and Paul Houston from Washington. Also contributing were Times staff writers James Gerstenzang, Jack Nelson, Stanley Meisler, Sam Fulwood III, Melissa Healy, Marlene Cimons and Michael Ross in Washington; Virginia Ellis, Mark Gladstone and Carl Ingram in Sacramento and Douglas P. Shuit in Oakland.