OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR

GOVERNOR GAVIN NEWSOM • SACRAMENTO, CA 95814 • (916) 445-2841

January 8, 2023

The Honorable Joseph R. Biden, Jr.

President of the United States

The White House

Oakland, CA 94607-4052

Dear Mr. President,

Under the provisions of Section 501 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief

and Emergency Assistance Act, 42 U.S.C. §§5121-5207 (the “Stafford Act”), as

implemented by 44 C.F.R. §206.35, I request that you issue an Emergency

Declaration for the State of California due to the current and ongoing series of

atmospheric river systems impacting the State, which are forecast to continue to

impact California through at least January 19, 2023.

California’s State Climatologist’s current modeling predicts additional significant,

if not historic, flooding impacts in the following counties due to the upcoming

storm: Mendocino, Merced, Monterey, Sacramento, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz,

Sonoma, Stanislaus, and Ventura. Due to wildfire burn scars, debris flows are

highly likely in the following counties: El Dorado, Los Angeles, Mariposa,

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Monterey, Napa, Placer, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Mateo, Santa Cruz, and

Sonoma. I am specifically requesting approval of emergency protective

Engineers’ assistance is requested specifically for debris flows from burn scars,

levee failures, and damage to roadways. The emergency measures required as

a result of the severity and destructiveness of these continuing atmospheric river

systems are beyond the capability of the State and affected tribal and/or local

governments to perform or to contract for, thus requiring DFA.

Meteorologic Forecasting Overview

January 19, 2023.

It is expected that trillions of gallons of water will soak California through

the course of these atmospheric river systems over the next two weeks in

addition to the water which has already saturated the State. The current

atmospheric river system will have continued impacts over the next two days,

and is expected to have rainfall totals between two to five inches for lower

elevations in northern California as well as the coast and valleys of Los Angeles

County. San Diego County is expected to get one to three inches of rain.

Mountains throughout the State will see rainfall amounts of three to ten inches

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previously. River, creek, stream, roadway, and urban floods will be at their

highest during this period. In addition to the probability of flooding, there is

locations exceeding monitoring stage throughout the entire State of California.

Any location where the flood stage is exceeded will result in flooding. Changing

reservoir releases for flood control will impact some locations. New and historic

flood records within this window are anticipated.

For example, the Bear River at McKee Road in Merced County is

expected to set a record high water mark at 27.8 ft at 2 AM PT on January 10,

2023. As the previous flood of record was 24.65 ft in 2006, there is serious concern

about this historic flood and potential impacts. The Guadalupe River at the

Almaden Expressway in San Jose is currently forecasted to peak at 11.5 feet on

Monday, January 9, 2023, around 4 PM Pacific Time. A peak of 11.5 feet at this

location will result in potential flooding of neighborhoods as well as closing a

state highway interchange. There is also a chance that the flood may set a new

high-water mark, as the previous mark was 11.73 ft set in 1995. Both events are

expected to bring flooding impacts to thousands of people.

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On December 27, 2022, the State activated its State Operations Center at

its highest level, along with the State’s Flood Operations Center (“FOC”), in

response to the predicted atmospheric river. The State also stood up its

Watershed Debris Task Force in order to analyze potential rainfall and prepare

for possible debris flows from wildfire burn scars. The earlier atmospheric river

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these atmospheric river systems and their effects, and the State’s FOC was

monitoring 20 different potential and actual flood events including at least two

widespread impacts of the atmospheric river systems that had occurred and

those that were and are still ongoing.

Even while the State was still responding to the initial atmospheric river

systems, the additional storms compounded impacts to many communities

throughout California and, on and after January 4, 2023, drastically expanded

the scale and scope of the emergency response efforts. This part of the

atmospheric river systems resulted in over 10,000 persons being under

evacuation orders with another 16,000 persons under evacuation watches.

Twenty-seven counties stood up their EOCs, with several cities and local

agencies doing so as well. Other resources including sand, sandbags, and flood

fight containers were disbursed. Additional state highways and roads were

closed and damaged due to flooding, snow, and earth slides. By January 8,

2023, 19 counties and numerous cities had proclaimed local states of

emergency. As of 1236 on January 8, 2023, there is an evacuation order in Santa

Cruz and evacuation warnings for over 6,200 persons in three counties. These

In order to prepare for the continued onslaught from these atmospheric

river systems, the State has pre-positioned its resources including swift water

rescue task forces, aviation search and rescue, high water vehicles, excavation

equipment, fire engines, and hand crews throughout the State, drawing upon

CAL FIRE, the California National Guard, California Conservation Corps,

California Department of Corrections, and local government resources. Those

resources are pre-positioned to handle both the potential flooding events and

potential wildfire burn scar debris flows from 21 different burn scars in eleven

counties across California.

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United States Army Corps of Engineers, and the United States Coast Guard.

In addition to the above-described response efforts, I have taken

appropriate action under State law and directed the Execution of the State

Emergency Plan consistent with 44 C.F.R. § 206.35 (c)(1) and (c)(2) when I

proclaimed the State of Emergency on January 4, 2023, for the State of

California due to the widespread impact of these atmospheric river systems.

emergency assistance, as set forth above, to save lives and to protect property,

public health and safety, or to lessen or avert the threat of this disaster.

I certify for this emergency that state and local governments will assume

all applicable non-federal shared costs as required by the Robert T. Stafford

Disaster Relief and Emergency Act.

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Mangat, Ryan Buras, Robert Troy, Edward Westfall, and Eli Owen are the

alternate GARs and are similarly empowered.

California continues to recover from multiple, consecutive disasters that

warranted and received Major Disaster Declarations in recent history, as seen in

the enclosed list. Now, due to these atmospheric river systems saturating