Monday, December 29, 2025

L.A. County Supervisors to Ratify Storm Emergency, Opening Path for Disaster Aid, at Rare New Year’s Eve Meeting

Courtesy of LACounty.gov

Meeting will seek state and federal assistance after atmospheric river delivers record Christmas rainfall, mudslides

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors will convene a rare New Year’s Eve special meeting Wednesday to ratify an emergency declaration stemming from last week’s powerful winter storms—a procedural step that officials say is essential to securing state and federal disaster assistance for communities across the county, including the fire-scarred foothill neighborhoods of Altadena.

The single-item agenda asks the five-member Board to formally approve the Proclamation of Local Emergency made December 24 as a series of atmospheric rivers battered Southern California, delivering what the National Weather Service called the wettest Christmas holiday in downtown Los Angeles since 1971. The ratification will allow the county to formally request recovery assistance under the California Disaster Assistance Act and position officials to seek federal relief programs.

For Altadena, the unincorporated community that remains under direct county jurisdiction, the action carries particular weight. Nearly a year after the devastating Eaton Fire burned thousands of homes in the foothill community, roughly 400 households in Altadena and Pasadena foothills faced evacuation orders or warnings during last week’s storms as officials warned that burn scar areas remained highly susceptible to debris flows. A mudslide was documented in Altadena on Christmas morning, and at least one Lake Avenue business—Sidecca Boutique—sustained flood damage when water inundated the store.

The storm system, classified as a strong atmospheric river, dropped 2.59 inches of rain on downtown Los Angeles during Christmas Eve and Christmas Day alone. East Pasadena recorded 2.65 inches, according to the National Weather Service, while wind gusts reached 55 mph locally and 60 mph across the county. An EF-0 tornado with 80 mph winds touched down in Boyle Heights on Christmas Day—a rare event for the region.

Statewide, the storms claimed four lives, including one man found in a vehicle partially submerged in mud in Lancaster, within LA County. Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency for Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, and Shasta counties on December 24, citing specific concern for recently burned areas including the Eaton Fire scar in Altadena. Newsom visited Altadena before the storm to survey state preparations, which included pre-positioning erosion control materials, concrete barriers to divert debris flow, and California National Guard soldiers for cleanup operations.

LA County’s emergency proclamation, if ratified, will remain in effect until the Board formally terminates it. According to the motion submitted by Supervisor Hilda Solis, the county is requesting that the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services find the proclamation acceptable under state law and make recovery assistance available under the California Disaster Assistance Act—a program that typically reimburses local governments for 75 percent of eligible costs including debris removal, emergency protective measures, and repair of damaged roads, bridges, and public facilities.

The proclamation also seeks expedited access to federal disaster relief programs, which could include federal Public Assistance grants if a Presidential Major Disaster Declaration is issued. County officials have not released damage estimates from the storm, though the scope of impacts—including flooding that closed Interstate 5 near Burbank Airport, multiple mudslide areas, and road damage—suggests costs could reach millions of dollars.

County emergency management officials lifted evacuation orders and warnings for burn scar areas by December 26 as the most intense rainfall subsided. However, forecasters warn that additional rain is expected New Year’s Day, maintaining elevated flood and debris flow risks through the holiday period. The Eaton Fire burn scar, stripped of vegetation that would normally absorb water, will remain vulnerable to debris flows for approximately three to five years, according to geologists with the California Geological Survey.

The special meeting will be held at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday in Board Hearing Room 381B at Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration, 500 West Temple Street in downtown Los Angeles. The public may participate online via the Webex App by registering at www.bos.lacounty.gov, or by phone at 213-306-3065 using access code 2533 911 7827 and password 2672025.

The full agenda and supporting documents are available through the Board of Supervisors website.