EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT
STATE OF CALIFORNIA
PROCLAMATION OF A STATE OF EMERGENCY
WHEREAS on November 6, 2024, the Mountain Fire began burning in Ventura County and has burned over 8,000 acres and continues to grow without containment; and
WHEREAS the Mountain Fire has destroyed and continues to threaten structures, homes, transportation and other critical infrastructure, communication sites, and transmission lines; and
WHEREAS low humidities and damaging winds blowing between 50 and 60 miles per hour, with gusts of up to 70 miles per hour, have increased the intensity and spread of the Mountain Fire, causing imminent threat to life, with a Red Flag warning in effect in Ventura County; and WHEREAS the Mountain Fire has prompted evacuation orders and warnings for thousands; and
WHEREAS the Office of Emergency Services had previously coordinated prepositioning of firefighting resources in Ventura County in anticipation of dangerous fire weather conditions, including fire engine strike teams, a bulldozer strike team, water tenders, hand crews, and local government helicopters; and
WHEREAS state agencies, including the Office of Emergency Services and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, have been coordinating with and supporting emergency operations and fire and law enforcement resources in Ventura County in response to the Mountain Fire; and
WHEREAS in response to a request from my Office of Emergency Services, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has approved a Fire Management Assistance Grant to assist with the mitigation, management, and control of the Mountain Fire; and
WHEREAS under the provisions of Government Code section 8558(b), I find that conditions of extreme peril to the safety of persons and property exist due to the Mountain Fire in Ventura County; and WHEREAS under the provisions of Government Code section 8558(b), I find that the conditions caused by the Mountain Fire, by reason of their magnitude, are or are likely to be beyond the control of the services, personnel, equipment, and facilities of any single local government and require the combined forces of a mutual aid region or regions to appropriately respond; and
WHEREAS under the provisions of Government Code section 8625(c), I find that local authority is inadequate to cope with the magnitude of the damage caused by the Mountain Fire; and WHEREAS under the provisions of Government Code section 8571, I find that strict compliance with various statutes and regulations specified in this Proclamation would prevent, hinder, or delay the mitigation of the effects of the Mountain Fire.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, GAVIN NEWSOM, Governor of the State of California, in accordance with the authority vested in me by the State Constitution and statutes, including the California Emergency Services Act, and in particular, Government Code section 8625, HEREBY PROCLAIM A STATE OF EMERGENCY to exist in Ventura County due to the Mountain Fire.
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT:
l. All agencies of the state government utilize and employ state personnel, equipment, and facilities for the performance of any and all activities consistent with the direction of the Office of Emergency Services and the State Emergency Plan. Also, all residents are to obey the direction of emergency officials with regard to this emergency in order to protect their safety.
2. The Office of Emergency Services shall provide assistance to local governments, if appropriate, under the authority of the California Disaster Assistance Act, Government Code section 8680 et seq., and California Code of Regulations, Title 19, section 2900 et seq.
I FURTHER DIRECT that as soon as hereafter possible, this Proclamation be filed in the Office of the Secretary of State and that widespread publicity and notice be given of this Proclamation This Proclamation is not intended to, and does not, create any rights or benefits, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity, against the State of California, its agencies, departments, entities, officers, employees, or any other person.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF I have
hereunto set my hand and caused
the Great Seal of the State of
California to be affixed this 7th day
of November 2024.
dJj
G~NEWSOM
Governor of California
ATTEST:
SHIRLEY WEBER, PH. D
Secretary of State