Alaska Airlines Crash

Re “Alaska Airlines Repays County for Expenses,” April 18.

The crash of Alaska Airlines flight 261 was one of our county’s most tragic events. Ventura County agencies responded without hesitation to this disaster with all available resources focused only on supporting the victims’ families, Alaska Airlines and the complex recovery and investigation operations.

Through it all, Alaska Airlines offered unwavering assistance, most recently characterized by swift reimbursement of victim recovery expenses incurred by the Sheriff’s Department and other county agencies.

I am personally grateful to Alaska Airlines for its strong support and expressed appreciation of our local disaster operations.

I would also like to acknowledge the hard work and assistance of Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-Simi Valley) and his staff throughout this unfortunate incident. Gallegly has been with us from that first night of the accident to lend whatever it took to help the victims’ families and to safeguard local resources. He furnished information to county agencies through his contacts with Alaska Airlines and the National Transportation Safety Board and helped coordinate federal and local operations. He and his staff have contributed significantly to Ventura County’s part in this incident, providing critical administrative leadership allowing us to effectively perform the recovery tasks at hand.

My heartfelt thanks to Elton Gallegly and his staff for their part in Ventura County’s effective and much appreciated response to this unfortunate tragedy.

BOB BROOKS

Ventura County Sheriff