Storm emergency declared

Butte County has declared a local emergency in response to the winter storms that have recently pounded the North State.

The proclamation was made by the county’s chief administrative officer, Paul Hahn (pictured), but must be ratified by the Board of Supervisors to become official, according to a press release. The declaration allows the county to access state funds to fix public rights-of-way damaged by heavy rain, flooding and falling trees—including Centerville Road and Oro-Quincy Highway—and help affected residents.

“Basically, what we’re saying is that we can’t cover this at the local level,” spokeswoman Casey Hatcher said by phone. “We’ve exceeded our local ability to address this, and we’d like access to disaster-relief funding.”