Douglas County assesses flood damage

Douglas County Board of Commissioners have requested a State of Emergency for the series of floods that have hit the region since July 20. In doing so, funds can come into the county to help replenish depleted coffers and to help with the repair of public infrastructure such as county maintained roads, culverts, and drainage.

On August 13, 2014 the State Damage Assessment Team completed a full day of inspection in the hardest hit areas of Johnson Lane and Fish Springs. They visited over 75 properties throughout the day and made numerous public contacts with residents who had called into the Flood Hotline or e-mailed the flood e-mail. The teams were also able to distribute literature on flood insurance programs, general information on flash flooding, and left business cards with those who were contacted.

“We made it personal yesterday with those impacted and I am proud of that effort,” said District Fire Chief Tod Carlini. “We went to the people yesterday, and we want to thank everyone who called in and reported damage. It is important that we document damages as we attempt to qualify for State Funding.”

Once the state report is complete it will be reviewed at the staff level with the state. The report will then be sent to the governor and it will be determined whether Douglas County will qualify for a State Declaration.

All of the information received from emails and calls has been collected and will be used to produce a location specific flood damage map to further access damages and review areas of concern.

The County continues its efforts to clean and remove debris left over from the floods with crews and equipment. Currently the emphasis is on debris removal in Fish Springs and Johnson Lane in addition to cleaning ditches and clearing roadways.

“We can assure you we have everything we have access to out and on the ground, cleaning ditches and clearing debris,” said Chris Oakden, Road Maintenance Operations Superintendent . “As a public entity there are some things we just can’t do, for instance cleaning up private property, our main priority is cleaning out the ditches, clearing debris from public roadways and not letting things get backed up while maintaining the safety of our employees and our residents.”

The following resources are out assisting the public and working through-out different areas in Douglas County:

Douglas County Maintenance Department
2 Grader Fish Springs Area
2 Loaders Johnson Lane Area
1 Broom Truck Johnson Lane Area
2 Bottom Dumps Johnson Lane Area
1 Back Hoe Johnson Lane Area

A&A Construction
1 Loaders Johnson Lane Area
1 Dump Trucks Johnson Lane Area
1 Grader Johnson Lane Area

Crocket Engineering
1 Grader Johnson Lane Area
1 Loader Johnson Lane Area
1 End Dumps Johnson Lane Area
2 Loader Fish Springs
2 End Dumps Fish Springs

Curtis & Sons Construction
1 End Dumps Fish Springs Area
1 Loader Fish Springs Area
2 Grader Fish Springs Area

Gardnerville Town
1 Street Sweeper Johnson Lane

Town of Minden
1 Street Sweeper Johnson Lane

If you have significant flood damage on your street please call Public Works(775)783-6480 and they will respond to your inquiry in order of severity.

The Douglas County Emergency Reverse 911 system is back up and running, and the however the National Weather Service issues appropriate warnings from their radar system and the Emergency Broadcast System. If Douglas County needed to issue evacuation notices the Emergency Alert System would be activated.

A public Douglas County flash flood hotline (775)782-9993 and email address flood@co.douglas.nv.us have been set up for residents to report damages for the state assessment. Please leave a detailed message with your name, contact information and address for damage assessment. This Hotline and email will close on August 15, 2014.