Memorandum
Date: February 27, 2024
To: The Honorable Lake County Board of Supervisors
From: Jessica Pyska, District 5 Supervisor
Subject: Presentation of Proclamation Thanking Senate President Pro Tempore Mike McGuire and the California State Legislature for Their Support of Lake County’s Tree Mortality Emergency Response
Executive Summary:
WHEREAS, then-California Governor Edmund G. Brown proclaimed a State of Emergency to exist throughout the State of California due to severe drought conditions on January 17, 2014; and
WHEREAS, a State of Emergency was subsequently on October 30, 2015, for pervasive Tree Mortality in California, and included provisions to expedite the removal and disposal of dead and dying hazardous trees; and
WHEREAS, the County of Lake proclaimed a Local Emergency due to worsening drought conditions on May 6, 2021; and
WHEREAS, persistent and severe drought and resultant multi-species bark beetle infestation in many areas of California caused dramatic Tree Mortality in several regions of the state, with the United States Forest Service estimating that over 22 million trees were dead in 2014 and tens of millions more were likely to die in the coming years; and
WHEREAS, Tree Mortality in Lake County grew at an extraordinary rate between 2019, when United States Forest Service Flyover data estimated 3,000 dead and dying trees countywide, and 2022, when that estimate reached 590,000, with an estimated 20,000+ trees threatening county roadways and evacuation routes; and
WHEREAS, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection’s aerial and group surveys in Napa and Lake Counties of December 2021 and January 2022 affirmed widespread conifer mortality, and that current drought is reducing the vigor and health of conifers, leaving Lake County trees vulnerable to further insect attack; and
WHEREAS, this growing threat increases wildfire risk, presents considerable safety risks from falling trees to residents living in affected rural, forested communities, and worsens the threat of erosion across Lake County’s watersheds; and
WHEREAS, the magnitude of pervasive Tree Mortality in Lake County continues to represent a threat beyond the capacity of County resources to remediate, and assistance is required from both State and Federal agencies; and
WHEREAS, the Lake County Board of Supervisors declared a local emergency for pervasive tree mortality on May 3, 2022; and
WHEREAS, the Lake County Board of Supervisors requested assistance from the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services under the California Disaster Assistance Act (CDAA 2015-5) on July 25, 2023; and
WHEREAS, Lake County’s State Senator, Mike McGuire, understanding the restrained financial capacity of the County of Lake, reviewed this request and was able to secure a $1,000,000 allocation to the County to fund project management support for this effort.
NOW, THEREORE, BE IT PROCLAIMED, the Lake County Board of Supervisors is grateful to Senator McGuire, who is now serving as 52nd President Pro Tempore of the California State Senate, for his extraordinary support and advocacy on behalf of Lake County, and to the State Legislature for recognizing Lake County’s Tree Mortality emergency as a matter of statewide concern.
BE IT FURTHER PROCLAIMED, remediating the ongoing Tree Mortality emergency is a matter of utmost priority and urgency to the County of Lake and this Board, and responsive County Departments are hereby directed to take steps to ameliorate emergency conditions to the maximum extent permitted by available resources.
PASSED AND ADOPTED this 27th day of February 2024.
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