HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 2b (1): Update on the December 2011 Windstorm Eventingurporawl
Augu05,1903
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SUMMARY
January 3, 2012
Mayor and City Council
STAFF REPORT
Public Works Services Department
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Tom Tait, Public Works Services Director
Prepared by: Ken Herman, Deputy Public Works Services Director
Maria A. Taylor, Senior Management Analyst
UPDATE ON THE DECEMBER 2011 WINDSTORM EVENT
Recommendation: Receive and File
On the evening of November 30 and the morning of December 1, 2011, the City of
Arcadia experienced an extreme windstorm event that caused power outages
throughout the community and an estimated 2.8 million dollars in damage to City
infrastructure that includes debris removal. On December 10th Governor Jerry Brown
declared a state of emergency for Los Angeles County. The Governor's declaration
opens the door for cities to collectively meet the monetary threshold necessary to apply
for state and federal funds for debris clean up and repair of infrastructure.
On the morning of December 1 City crews and contractors began to clear debris and
obstructions from arterial and secondary streets. Following these efforts, City crews
and contractors transitioned into clearing debris from neighborhood streets. One group
started in the south end of the City and another started in the north, with the goal of
cleaning debris and removing obstructions from right-of-way to right-of-way. For the
most part, these efforts were completed by December 20. At present, maintenance
crews and contract crews are continuing their efforts to remove trees, hanging limbs,
tree stumps, and cleaning debris from City owned facilities. While some Public Works
Services employees have transitioned back to normal duties, others are continuing to
make assessments of damage from the Windstorm event. Following these
assessments, PWS staff will begin to make repair plans for broken sidewalk, tree stump
removal and grinding, replacing missing street and traffic signs, street lights, trees, and
traffic signals.
DISCUSSION
The response to the Windstorm event is broken down into three phases: (1)
Emergency; (2) Restoration; and (3) Repair.
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Mayor and City Council
January 3, 2012
The first phase of response (Emergency Response) to the Windstorm began in the late
evening of November 30 and continued with a 24-hour a day emergency response until
December 5. This focused on providing access along arterial and secondary streets for
emergency vehicles, by cutting debris into manageable sections and either removing
the debris from the roadway, or in some cases, simply pushing the debris out of the
travel lane.
The following statistics provide an overview of emergency response during the initial
stage of the windstorm event:
• 921 calls received by the Public Works Services Department
• 350 9-1-1 calls received within 24 hours of the incident
• 900 9-1-1 calls over a five (5)-day period (typical average is 40 calls per day)
• 570 City trees down (includes split trees)
• 23 City trees on private vehicles
• 65 City trees on private structures
• 46 City trees on private property
• 61 City trees in electrical wires (part of the total 570 trees)
The second phase (Restoration) began on December 5 and was substantially
completed on December 20. In this phase, City crews and contractors systematically
began cleaning all debris and obstructions along neighborhood streets from right-of-way
to right-of-way that included removing hanging limbs and trees that were considered a
hazard.
As debris clearance continued, it was important for the City to look into more cost-
efficient alternatives while considering environmental best practices for disposing large
amount of debris and tree trunks. The decision was made to find a suitable site to haul
the debris for the purpose of processing it from bulk debris to mulch. Consequently,
staff investigated sites owned or managed by the Los Angeles County, Army Corps of
Engineers, Southern California Edison, local nurseries and neighboring cities. Finally,
an agreement was established with the City of Monrovia to provide a joint use site in
Monrovia to collect and process the debris. Approximately 10,000 tons of debris has
been removed from City streets and the public right-of-way.
Due to the large amount of mulch, staff will work on a program to make mulch available
to residents. Mulching greatly helps in saving water by reducing evaporation of
irrigation in planting beds; it fertilizes and improves the quality of the soil; and it helps in
controlling weeds. Grinding the tree debris into mulch saved the City approximately
$300,000 in landfill tipping fees and hauling costs.
The third phase of response (Repair) began on December 22 and is still in progress.
This phase includes the identification, replacement and repair of all damaged
infrastructure within the City as a result of the windstorm. This includes replacement of
missing and damaged street and traffic signs, traffic signals, removal of stumps and
stump grinding, replacement of drive way approaches and sidewalks. At a later date,
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Mayor and City Council
January 3, 2012
staff will finalize infrastructure repair and restoration costs; prepare plans and
specifications, in order to go out to bid for these repairs.
FISCAL IMPACT
The estimated cost for the December Windstorm which includes emergency response,
staff time, debris removal, and restoration of City infrastructure is $2.8 million.
RECOMMENDATION
Receive and file the December 2011 Windstorm Event Update
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Approved by: o-yL4-e4C3
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Donald Penman, City Manager