Emergency Proclaimed by Governor : Storms: Wilson’s action aimed at easing financial burden on county residents and at speeding cleanup after last week’s rains.

Gov. Pete Wilson on Wednesday proclaimed a state of emergency in Orange County after last week’s torrential rains and flooding caused an estimated $9 million in damage.

Wednesday’s proclamation also includes Kern and San Bernardino counties and expands an earlier order the governor signed providing emergency assistance to residents in Los Angeles and Ventura counties.

“This proclamation will help ease the financial burden on residents who have suffered property damage as a result of the recent storms,” Wilson said in a written statement announcing the action for Orange County. “It will also help ease the large cleanup costs incurred by the counties.”

Wilson spokesman Franz Wisner said the emergency proclamation will allow Orange County residents to apply for low-interest loans from the California Department of Housing and Community Development if they are uninsured and otherwise fail to qualify for private loans.

The proclamation also allows the state to transfer funds and emergency equipment to help with storm cleanup. In addition, the action allows local governments in Orange County to apply for matching state funds to pay for repairs to public property and for “hiring all these extra people to go out and stuff sandbags and what have you,” Wisner said.

A spokeswoman for the state’s Office of Emergency Services said the latest proclamation prompted state “damage assessment” teams to begin on Wednesday to make a dollar assessment of storm damage in the three counties.

Orange County officials say, however, that their own preliminary work has counted about $9 million worth of damage to public and private property. The number may change, they said.

“Everyone is in that mode of trying to assess the damages,” said Fausto Reyes, manager of emergency services for the Orange County Fire Department. Reyes said the most expensive damage was to county flood control channels.

Another costly item wiped out by the floodwaters was a $500,000 bridge leading to an Orange County South Coast Water District treatment plant in Laguna Beach, said Linda Jones, the agency’s assistant general manager.

Jones said the bridge, built in 1969, served as the main entrance to the treatment plant, which is in Aliso Canyon. It was washed away last week, stranding 12 district employees who had to be airlifted to safety by Marines from the El Toro base. Also washed away were two water lines--one carrying reclaimed and the other potable water.

Since then, a “skeleton crew” of district employees have made their way to the plant by “hiking in from the canyon area,” she said. On Wednesday, Marines from Camp Pendleton replaced the bridge with a temporary structure.