Storm Cost Put at $218 Million, Outside of Crops

SANTA ANA — Statewide damage estimates from this month’s storms topped $218 million, and that doesn’t include crop losses.

Nancy Hardaker of the state Office of Emergency Services said the property damage tally of $218.6 million is expected to increase once farmers’ losses are taken into account.

Gov. Pete Wilson sent the damage estimates to President Clinton on Wednesday in a request for federal help. The request cited:

* Heavy private property damage in Orange County, where local authorities have put losses at more than $40 million.

* Cleanup costs of $25 million in San Diego County, where 200 people were evacuated and the Tijuana River was tainted by sewage and chemical runoff.

* Losses totaling $20 million at mountain resorts in San Bernardino County, plus damages in Apple Valley, Hesperia, Victorville and Redlands.

Wilson also cited lost homes, public works damage, snow removal and other emergency costs in the counties of Riverside, Imperial, Fresno, Tulare, Madera, Monterey, Tehama, Trinity, Sierra, Siskiyou, Lassen, Plumas and Modoc, and for Fillmore in Ventura County.

His letter, forwarded through the Federal Emergency Management Agency in San Francisco, said 22 people were confirmed dead from the storms from Jan. 5 through Jan. 22.