Wilson to Seek U.S. Disaster Relief for Humboldt County : Earthquakes: Governor praises tenacity of North Coast residents after three temblors caused $61 million in damage. He inspects quakes’ devastating effects on Ferndale, Scotia and Rio Dell.

Praising earthquake-rocked residents for their generosity and pluck, Gov. Pete Wilson said Tuesday that he would ask President Bush to declare Humboldt County a federal disaster area to allow residents to qualify for federal relief funds.

“Tragically, some of the older and more charming homes have been the major casualties,” Wilson said after a 45-minute walking tour of the downtown district, where he viewed several century-old buildings shaken off their foundations. “I hope most of them will be rebuilt.”

In his left hand, Wilson held a bent, two-foot-long brass key to the city offered him by Hobart Brown, owner of a Main Street art gallery.

“It’s a little bent but it’s still intact,” Wilson told reporters. “That seems to be the situation not just here in Ferndale but throughout Humboldt County. ‘Victims of this quake have shown great courage. They have risen to the occasion; they have helped one another.”

The trio of weekend temblors, officials said, resulted in more than $40-million damage to North Coast homes and businesses and another $21 million in damage to public roads and bridges. More than 100 homes suffered major damage and more than 50 people suffered minor injuries. There were no deaths.

Wilson, before walking through pastoral Ferndale with his wife, Gayle, also took a helicopter tour of Scotia, where the town’s only shopping center was destroyed by a quake-related fire, and Rio Dell, where the water supply and sewage system have been rendered inoperative by a water main break.

Emergency workers continued to supply potable water to Rio Dell residents Tuesday and delivered water and food to the isolated coastal town of Petrolia, where the only grocery store caught fire and burned after Saturday morning’s initial magnitude 6.9 quake.

More than 40 people continue to camp out nightly in Petrolia on the grounds of Mattole Union School. “They’re scared to go inside yet--it’s not a surprise,” Red Cross volunteer Kenna Reed said.

Emergency workers were feeding 75 to 150 people per meal at the school, where portable showers have also been set up. Psychological counselors were due to arrive today.

Petrolia Fire Chief Travis Howe said that if no further quakes hit, “hopefully there will be some funding soon to rebuild, get us out of this disaster and get the school here going again.” He estimated that 50 to 100 people in Petrolia were left without homes.

Wilson warned residents that federal aid could be extremely slow in arriving due to bureaucratic snafus and funding shortfalls. Until federal funds become available, the governor said, he would seek to provide state bridge loans for local merchants.

Since Saturday’s initial quake, many Ferndale merchants have already re-glazed their front windows, repainted the exteriors of their buildings and reopened for business. Some, in fact, worried Tuesday that the governor might not realize the magnitude of the calamity because so much restoration has already been accomplished.

“That’s in the back of everyone’s mind,” Lt. Rich Leonardo of the volunteer Fire Department said. “But if you stand around waiting for government to get things done it could take a pretty long time.”