Quake Emergency Declared : Disaster: County takes action though area was spared significant damage. Anaheim can now apply for help in making repairs to stadium.

Orange County declared a state of emergency Wednesday because of costs and damage sustained in the Northridge earthquake, the largest being the collapsed scoreboard at Anaheim Stadium.

Board of Supervisors Chairman Thomas F. Riley signed a declaration of emergency late Wednesday afternoon even though the county was largely spared the destruction caused elsewhere by the quake.

Ernie Schneider, the county’s administrative officer, said the Federal Emergency Management Agency urged the county to make the declaration.

Riley said the declaration primarily will help local public safety departments seek reimbursement for expenses encountered in their response to hard-hit areas in Los Angeles County.

The chairman said probably the greatest interest in the declaration came from the city of Anaheim, where the temblor caused severe damage to part of the city-owned stadium.

Preliminary damage estimates to the stadium were $3 million to $4 million, but Anaheim officials backed away from those figures Wednesday, saying it is unclear what the final cost will be.

With the declaration, the city also could apply for federal and state help in making repairs to the stadium, Riley said.

Asked whether stadium damage should qualify for assistance, Riley said: “If the criteria makes it eligible under the law, I think you should get your share.”

Meanwhile, removal of the 17-ton Sony Jumbotron scoreboard from its landing spot in the stadium’s third deck began Wednesday night after the Anaheim City Council, meeting in emergency session, hired a demolition company to do the work. The board collapsed during Monday’s early morning quake, destroying or damaging more than 1,000 seats. Only two guards were in the stadium at the time and they were not hurt, but hundreds could have been killed if an event had been taking place.

Penhall International Inc., which specializes in earthquake demolition and is removing some of the collapsed Los Angeles County freeways, began erecting bracing in the damaged left-field part of the stadium immediately after the council vote and was expected to work around the clock until the board is removed.

The company will receive up to $500,000 for its work, and its deadline is Jan. 28. The stadium’s next scheduled event, a series of motorcycle races, is set for Jan. 29. The damaged portion of the stadium will remain closed during that event, but city officials say the rest of the stadium has been inspected by engineers and declared safe.

Stadium General Manager Greg Smith also said the city hired three engineering firms to conduct independent investigations into why the board collapsed. No other major structural damage was reported within 30 miles of the stadium.

The firms also will determine whether installation of a scoreboard at that location is safe and whether the left-field stands suffered structural damage from the impact.

The firms will work separately, and each will issue its own reports. Two of those reports will be made public, he said, while the third will be for the city’s use in any litigation that might arise from the collapse. No deadline for completing the reports has been set.