California governor declares state of emergency for 13 counties due to severe winter storms

LOS ANGELES, March 1 (Xinhua) -- California Governor Gavin Newsom on Wednesday announced a state of emergency in 13 counties of the most populous U.S. state due to severe winter storms.

The emergency proclamation will support disaster response and relief in the counties of Los Angeles, Amador, Kern, Madera, Mariposa, Mono, Nevada, San Bernardino, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Sierra, Sonoma and Tulare.

The western U.S. state, home to around 40 million residents, has a total of 58 counties.

Severe winter storms struck California beginning in late February, bringing damaging winds and historic precipitation, including snowfall in areas unaccustomed to snow, said the emergency declaration.

These storms have damaged and forced the closure of highways and roads, resulted in power outages, forced evacuations and stranded residents and motorists in impacted counties. Critical infrastructure continues to be threatened, said the declaration.

It is forecasted that additional storms will continue to threaten counties across California.

In addition, Newsom announced the activation of the California National Guard to help with emergency response efforts. The governor has also activated the State Operations Center to bring state support to county-led emergency response efforts and coordinate mutual aid from neighboring jurisdictions, especially in Southern California's San Bernardino County.

Significant numbers of state personnel are on the ground supporting San Bernardino County, which has been under a local emergency since Monday following snowstorms over the weekend.

Many residents in the county's mountain communities are still trapped by heavy snow. Officials said they are working hard to clear mountain community roads and provide assistance to residents.

"I am aware of the critical situation in the mountain communities," tweeted San Bernardino County Supervisor Dawn Rowe, noting that county officials "have every available resource on the mountain &have asked the state to send emergency assistance."

Rowe welcomed Newsom's emergency proclamation Wednesday night.

"This emergency proclamation will bring more resources to San Bernardino County," she wrote in a tweet.