U.S. Small Business Administration and California Chamber of Commerce
Announce New Collaboration
Helping More California Entrepreneurs Start Up, Scale Up & Succeed 
SACRAMENTO – The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and California Chamber of Commerce (CalChamber) today announced a new Strategic Alliance supporting California’s 4 million small businesses.
 
“This new strategic alliance with CalChamber, which has served California business owners since 1890, will help the Small Business Administration better reach and support this state’s entrepreneurs,” said SBA’s Region IX Administrator Michael Vallante.  “There has never been a better time to start or grow a small business, and the SBA’s partnership with CalChamber will help more California entrepreneurs use our programs to get their small businesses going, and keep them growing.”
 
“The U.S. Small Business Administration empowers California entrepreneurs and small business owners with the resources and support they need to start, grow and  expand,” said CalChamber President and Chief Executive Officer Allan Zaremberg. “This new partnership helps us serve the millions of California entrepreneurs that make this state’s economy the fifth largest in the world,” said Zaremberg.
 
The SBA’s six California Offices will work with CalChamber to strengthen and expand small business development in California, including in rural areas which support important industries such as timber and natural resources, and in Opportunity Zones which spur growth in low-income communities.
 
The new partnership will kick off in July with a free training webinar for California small business owners on state labor and employment laws.

About the U.S. Small Business Administration
The U.S. Small Business Administration makes the American dream of business ownership a reality. As the only go-to resource and voice for small businesses backed by the strength of the federal government, the SBA empowers entrepreneurs and small business owners with the resources and support they need to start, grow or expand their businesses, or recover from a declared disaster. It delivers services through an extensive network of SBA field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations. To learn more, visit www.sba.gov.
About the California Chamber of Commerce (CalChamber)
The California Chamber of Commerce (CalChamber) is the largest broad-based business advocate to government in California.  Membership represents one-quarter of the private sector jobs in California and includes firms of all sizes and companies from every industry within the state.  Leveraging our front-line knowledge of laws and regulations, we provide products and services to help businesses comply with both federal and state law.  CalChamber, a not-for-profit organization with roots dating to 1890, promotes international trade and investment in order to stimulate California’s economy and create jobs.  Please visit our website at www.calchamber.com
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A PUBLIC MEETING on the proposed Sierra Hot Springs (SHS) development project was held Saturday, June 29th by the Sierra County Planning Department at the Sierraville School. Planning Works Director Tim Beals stated he’d been with Sierra County 47 years, adding it was a very special place to him. He introduced Brandon Pangman, Deputy Director in the Planning Department, Andy Cassano, of Nevada City Engineering, Kaisa McDonald, General Manager of Sierra Hot Springs, Markus Lang, Project Manager of Dudek Consultants from Auburn, and Kristin York, Vice President of Sierra Business Council.
Beals told the large audience in attendance that the meeting was to informally discuss the project, to have an open dialog and be transparent.  He said they were not there to advocate for the project, adding they were objective and there to serve the direction of the county general plan, respect the rights of the property owner and respect the needs of the community. Beals stated the evolution of the project had been somewhat invisible and looking back he wished they had had a meeting like this months ago and this was their chance to rewind a little so everyone got a feel for the project.
Kristin York asked how many people were there because they loved Sierra Valley. With all hands raised, she told the audience to remember that throughout the meeting, adding it was important to listen and learn.
Beals talked about the County General Plan that was adopted in 1996. He said the Board of Supervisors looked at the plan that hadn’t been updated since 1970 and turned it over to the Planning Commission, who conducted over 50 public meetings in the course of two years and the result was a general plan developed by the community. The General Plan has been touted as a unique document and is still functional and very viable today. Beals stated there are five basic fundamental goals of the plan: 1. To maintain its culture, heritage, rural character and preserve its rural quality of life. 2. To defend its important natural features and functions. 3. To foster compatible and historical land uses which are rural and which contribute to a stable economy. 4. To direct development toward the areas already developed. 5. To provide and plan for all land and uses regardless of ownership or governmental jurisdiction. Beals said the concept of a project at SHS is consistent with the General Plan.
Brandon Pangman talked about land use regulations and the process of California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), as a lot of comments have been about the environmental process. He gave the timeline in which had been completed up to this point. SHS sent an application to the County in February 2015. The County deemed the application complete in April of 2015. Pangman stated in the CEQA process, the bulk of the time is the environmental review, which looks at a broad range of impacts with the environment. SHS completed over three years of background studies. He said SHS worked for years with an eye toward Sierra County’s general plan to help mitigate environmental impacts, and willingly amended their application to achieve this. Pangman stated the draft document was circulated in November 2018, and solicited comments, adding all the documents are publically available. From the audience, it was asked where SHS project was in the CEQA circulation and process. Pangman stated the Mitigated Negative Declaration Draft Document had been completed and the next step was to develop responses to all the comments. He said the document could be modified based on those comments.
Kaisa McDonald, is the general manager at SHS and has worked there 19 years and prior to that, she grew up there. She stated in 2005, SHS looked at building some resident housing but were told they had to have a master plan. In 2012, she joined with Andy Cassano and worked on it for about 3 years. She is hoping to find something that would work well with the community. She said SHS was one of the few areas in the General Plan that is zoned visitor commercial so it gives a good opportunity for tourism. McDonald stated since 2003, there’s been a 319% increase in business and has been turning people away for lack of room. She stated since they are a non-profit they don’t pay Federal income taxes, but pay Transient Occupancy Taxes (TOT) and felt SHS was the largest contributor in the County, paying $80,000 last year. SHS pays property taxes and paid $44,000 last year and employs 32, paying about $783,000 in payroll. McDonald thought about 26 of     those employees were local hires.     Andy Cassano, a land surveyor and planner who grewup in Camptonville, reminisced about the prosperity the area used to have due to the timber industry. He stated the Sierraville School closed due to the loss of economic opportunities. Cassano said he wouldn’t have taken the job if the 384-acre property wasn’t zoned visitor commercial. He stated he and Kaisa looked to develop a menu of items SHS can choose from over the next 20, 30 and 40 years, and worked to come up with a project in areas that were already being used, consistent with the General Plan, and something that “would not ruin your lives.” He said he’s worked with McDonald the last seven years, and stated she is a smart businesswoman and very community oriented. He concluded that they would like nothing better than to find jobs for people who live here and maybe have a school here again.
York asked the audience if there were any clarifying questions. One audience member stated he felt the project was being pushed through. He felt any project of this size, should have automatically had an Environmental Impact Review (EIR), adding it doubled the size of the community of Sierraville and asked how this keeps with the rural quality of life. Pangman stated they looked at the situation and there wasn’t a huge increase. A designated campground will actually decrease the numbers.
Another comment asked why Sierra County felt it followed the General Plan when a legal opinion did not? Beals stated, “You can hire ten attorneys and get ten different answers.” He said they were still in the process of evaluating on whether they want to move forward or step back and reconsider some things that have been presented.
Fire danger was a concern with the audience, and was stated SHS is in a high grass area and borders the Tahoe National Forest. It was asked what Sierra County was doing to follow the recommendations of Cal Fire. Beals said the comments received from Cal Fire would be entered into the project approval process.
Traffic was a big stumbling block for the audience and it was stated the study cited was out of date. Pangman said he found some errors, and an old traffic study was entered. He stated the correct traffic study was done in 2016 for this project in August after Burning Man. Another question asked if there could be anything in this project to help with the volume and speed of traffic going through Sierraville. Beals understood that needed to be evaluated, adding they have tried to slow people down with speed back signs and enforcement.
One audience member stated this was a major application that would affect this valley and asked why they are six months into the project and just now having public input. Beals said when the document concluded in January, he misjudged the time and needed to hit rewind and start over so everyone was on the same page.
One audience member stated they are blessed to have SHS here, but would like to see a balance struck, and felt more workshops could fill in key pieces. She added, she wants a good project. Beals agreed that more discussion had to be done to address the concerns of the community, and added nobody was suggesting this would be shoved
down your throat. He stated the County will evaluate the input closely and will meet with the applicant to see where they want to go. Beals concluded by stating, they want to hear the concerns and take it back to a productive environment.
Other concerns brought about after the audience was separated into groups, were social impacts to the community, noise pollution, dust pollution, and public safety. Some suggestions consisted of cutting the project in half, downsizing the market so people will do more shopping in local towns, and have a second access road for fire. People felt the project was positive in tax revenue, economy, employment, and improvement to the facilities.
Beals appreciated the comments and would be having a constructive meeting with the property owner to address these concerns. He felt the meeting was very constructive and hoped to have a solution people can get behind.
From the audience, Rick Maddalena thanked McDonald for
her open-mindedness and stated they have the right person to make the right project happen.

 
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.—Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) continues to make substantial progress toward its Community Wildfire Safety Program (CWSP) goals, intended to mitigate the risk of wildfires and protect customers and communities.
 
“We’ve accomplished a lot, but there is more work to do. Our system is better today than it was yesterday, and it will be better tomorrow than it is today. We are committed to further reduce wildfire risks and help keep our customers and the communities we serve safe,” said Sumeet Singh, PG&E vice president of the Community Wildfire Safety Program.
 
Here are updates on the various facets of the CWSP, through June 22, 2019:
 

•          Wildfire Safety Inspection Program (WSIP): Visual inspections of 96 percent and aerial inspections of 92 percent of approximately 50,000 transmission structures in high fire-risk areas. Inspections of all 222 substations in high fire-risk areas. Inspections of more than 99 percent of nearly 700,000 distribution poles in, or adjacent to, high fire-risk areas.
•          Wildfire Safety Operations Center (WSOC): The 24/7 command center for PG&E’s wildfire monitoring and response opened in 2018. The WSOC, based in PG&E’s San Francisco headquarters, has received technological and facility upgrades in 2019.
•          Weather stations. These provide hyper-local information and increase situational awareness. Approximately 430 have been installed since 2018, including 231 so far this year. PG&E will have 600 in place by the end of 2019 and 1,300 by 2022.
•          High-definition wildfire cameras: An effective tool for early spotting of wildfires, 31 cameras have been installed so far with a goal of 100 in place by the end of 2019 and 600 by 2022.
•          Enhanced vegetation management: Work to keep trees and power lines separate continues. The 2019 forecast is to prune or remove approximately 375,000 trees along approximately 2,500 miles of distribution lines. More than 50 percent of the line miles have been inspected so far with 20 percent cleared.
•          Reclosers: These devices shorten a power outage by sending a live pulse when an issue is detected. On days of higher wildfire risk, this functionality is turned off for safety. In 2019, we added remote-functioning capability to all operational line reclosers in High-Fire Threat District (HFTD) Tiers 2 and 3 (737 devices with remote capabilities.) This work was completed by June 1 and will further increase our ability to isolate and minimize the scope of PSPS events by sectionalizing portions of circuits within HFTD Tiers 2 and 3. We will do additional sectionalizing over the next five-plus years.
•          Helicopters. In June, PG&E finalized the agreement with CAL FIRE to make four PG&E-owned heavy-duty helicopters available at CAL FIRE’s discretion to support fire response and suppression activities as needed.  [These helicopters are used for normal PG&E maintenance & operations activities when not required by CAL FIRE.] 
•          Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS): The first PSPS event of 2019 took place in June. Customer and stakeholder communications, including open houses and workshops, continue. Customers should make sure their contact information is updated at www.pge.com/mywildfirealerts
•          System hardening and resiliency: So far in 2019, PG&E has completed installing stronger and more resilient poles and covered power lines on 44 circuit miles with a goal of completing 150 circuit miles in 2019 and 7,100 miles in high fire-threat areas in the next 10 years.
•          Pilot resilience zones. By the end of the 2019, our goal is to have at least one resilience zone operationalized. Construction is ongoing on the first pilot in Angwin in Napa County. The resilience zone is designed to be quickly isolated from the broader electric grid when a PSPS is initiated and to receive power from temporary mobile generation connected to a new pre-installed interconnection hub. Additional grid hardening was recently added to the scope of the pilot project to maximize risk reduction, which extended the operational target beyond June 1 to the end of 2019.

Additionally, PG&E has begun daily aerial fire detection patrols across thousands of miles of its service area. This is the sixth year for these patrols which assist the U.S. Forest Service, CAL FIRE and local fire agencies with early fire detection and response. Early detection of smoke or fire allows fire agencies to quickly respond to accurate locations. The patrols began on June 1 and will run until October 31, depending upon conditions. Seven planes will fly daily routes from late afternoon until dusk, the time of day when wildfires are most likely to start. 
 
For more detailed information on the various pillars of the Community Wildfire Safety Program, visit our website, www.pge.com/wildfiresafety
 
About PG&E
Pacific Gas and Electric Company, a subsidiary of PG&E Corporation (NYSE:PCG), is one of the largest combined natural gas and electric energy companies in the United States. Based in San Francisco, with more than 23,000 employees, the company delivers some of the nation’s cleanest energy to nearly 16 million people in Northern and Central California. For more information, visit www.pge.com/ andpge.com/news.
 
Cautionary Statement Concerning Forward-Looking Statements
This news release includes forward-looking statements that are not historical facts, including statements about the beliefs, expectations, estimates, future plans and strategies of PG&E Corporation and Pacific Gas and Electric Company. These statements are based on current expectations and assumptions, which management believes are reasonable, and on information currently available to management, but are necessarily subject to various risks and uncertainties. In addition to the risk that these assumptions prove to be inaccurate, factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements include the factors disclosed in PG&E Corporation and Pacific Gas and Electric Company’s annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018, their most recent quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2019, and their subsequent reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Additional factors include, but are not limited to, those associated with PG&E Corporation’s and Pacific Gas and Electric Company’s Chapter 11 cases. PG&E Corporation and Pacific Gas and Electric Company undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether due to new information, future events or otherwise, except to the extent required by law.
 

The fire department was paged out at 10:27 AM on Saturday morning to the report of a structure fire, with several structures.   Loyalton Fire was first on scene with Engine #15 within minutes, followed shortly by Engine #12 and later engine Brush #10 with approximately nine personnel.   The Incident Commander was Loyalton Division Fire Chief John Evans.  Mutual aid was requested at time of dispatch and the following departments provided that mutual aid:   USFS Engine #61 from Sierraville Ranger Station, USFS Engine  #62 from Lewis Mills on Smithneck Road and USFS Battalion Chief #61 Shawn Burt from Sierraville Ranger Station.   Sierra County Fire Protection District #1 responded with an engine and a water tender.   Sierra Valley Fire from Chilcoot provided an engine and Beckwourth Fire responded with two apparatus.   Cal Fire responded two Prevention/Arson Investigation Officers and an engine from the Martis Peak area south of Truckee.   Also early on scene was the Sierra County Sheriff's Office and the California Highway Patrol to assist with scene control and possible evacuations, which eventually were not necessary.  The Loyalton Ambulance Medic #1 from Eastern Plumas Health Care arrived to stand-by for any possible emergency medical needs.   The City of Loyalton later provided a long-reach back hoe and city worker/operator to assist with the mop-up process moving heavy debris on site to allow fire department better access and to ensure the fire was out.   Also, a Plumas-Sierra Rural Electric Cooperative lineman from Portola  responded as mutual aid for Nevada Energy Company, which was a delayed response, to disconnect a power line down in the street.

Loyalton Engine #15 and the two USFS Engines #61 and #62 knocked the fire down within twenty minutes and controlled the fire spread to the existing property at 11 Zollinger Street between Church and Jones Streets, which was a long-time vacant single story wood residence built approximately in the 1930's and uninhabited for decades.   The single city lot had several moderate sized trees and over-grown vegetation consisting of tall grass and brush surrounding the structure.  The fire was contained to the primary lot with no damage to adjoining residences.   Fortunately there was little to no wind at the time of the fire.   

The cause of the fire remains under investigation by the Sierra County Sheriff's Office and the California Department of Fire and Forestry, Truckee Area Office.  The start is considered suspicious due to the property being unoccupied for many years.   There were no reported injuries or loss or damage to fire apparatus/equipment.   The tall flames and black smoke plume drew many local residents and the current property owners later arrived on scene and were of the incident.   Residents on several sides adjoining the property were repeatedly verbally grateful to fire fighting personnel for protecting their homes and for the rapid response and knock down/control effected by the Loyalton Fire Department volunteers and mutual aid personnel.    The Loyalton Fire Department is very thankful to the other local area agencies, both paid and volunteer, who responded to help with this structure fire in the center of our city.   We are thankful no one was hurt and the damage was limited to the original structure and vegetation.

Susanville – Warming temperatures and winds are drying out the abundant annual grass crop. The increasing fire danger posed by the high volume of dead grass and hotter, drier conditions in the region is prompting the CAL FIRE Lassen-Modoc Unit to suspend all burn permits for outdoor residential burning within the State Responsibility Area of Lassen, Modoc and Plumas Counties. This suspension takes effect Monday, July 15, 2019 and bans all residential outdoor burning of landscape debris such as branches and leaves.
 
“Last year was a devastating reminder that the public cannot let their guard down. Together, we must adapt and evolve to be able to withstand the intensity of these fires, keeping in mind, that the only way to mitigate the damage they cause is through preparation,” said Chief Thom Porter, CAL FIRE director. “The dry, hot weather that fueled the massive fires last year will return again this year, so it is up to the public to be ready.” 
 
Since January 1, 2019 CAL FIRE and firefighters across the state have already responded to over 2,108 wildfires for 19,144 acres. While outdoor burning of landscape debris by homeowners is no longer allowed, CAL FIRE is asking residents to take that extra time to ensure that they are prepared for wildfires by maintaining a minimum of 100 feet of Defensible Space around every home and buildings on their property and being prepared to evacuate if the time comes.
 
Here are some tips to help prepare homes and property:

• Clear all dead and or dying vegetation 100 feet from around all structures.
• Landscape with fire resistant plants and non-flammable ground cover.
• Find alternative ways to dispose of landscape debris like chipping or hauling it to a biomass energy or green waste facility

 
The department may issue restricted temporary burning permits if there is an essential reason due to public health and safety. Agriculture, land management, fire training, and other industrial-type burning may proceed if a CAL FIRE official inspects the burn site and issues a special permit.
 
The suspension of burn permits for residential landscape debris does not apply to campfires within organized campgrounds or on private property. Campfires may be permitted if the campfire is maintained in such a manner as to prevent its spread to the wildland. A campfire permit can be obtained at local fire stations or online at PreventWildfireCA.org.
  
For additional information on how to create Defensible Space, on how to be prepared for wildfires, as well as tips to prevent wildfires,  visit www.ReadyForWildfire.org.
 
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Harold Pease, Ph. D.



As government controls more portions of the economy, democracy transcends to socialism.  Sometime in this transition democracy ceases to be democracy although the term continues to be used, and no-one can identify that moment when it is too late to pull free.
So why should the dependent class, defined as the approximately 47% who pay no federal income tax and are largely those who benefit from food stamps, subsidized housing, healthcare and other assistance programs, fear socialism?  Because socialism has a history of ending assistance programs.  Democracy enables a marriage between the assisted class with their vote power and politicians wishing to empower themselves by, in effect, transferring wealth from those who have to the poor.  Once established this marriage self perpetuates and amplifies.  Try seeking office today on a platform that ends all governmental assistance programs—or, even just one, food stamps.  
The brakes (limits) of the Constitution are powerful when observed but they cannot perform well once gifting (bribing the dependent class for their vote) has been introduced into the body politic.  Once ingrained it cannot prevent itself from offering larger and more gifts until elections are bidding wars without constitutional restraints.  This feeds an enlarging national debt that can never be paid.  We see this today in the Democratic Party presidential debates: free college, reparations for the descendants of ex-slaves, a guaranteed income, and free healthcare for everyone in the world willing to cross our borders illegally.  In exchange for your vote the socialist politician advocates that everything be free.  This is his most powerful lure and works well on idealistic youth and the already dependent but it risks collapsing the economy, democracy, the Constitution and liberty.
Aristotle recognized this when he wrote,  “Republics decline into democracies and democracies degenerate into despotism.”  The deadly virus of democracy is voter gifting by politicians willing to sell their souls for elected office.
King Solon of Athens created the governmental form a republic because the philosopher king believed that man should govern himself and, once he had the republic in place, left Athens to attend the University of Alexandria in Egypt never to return.  The new idea, personal freedom, resulted in five major unintended consequences: a booming economy, a creative and intellectual surge, an ever enlarging voter base, an unequal distribution of wealth because not all were equally gifted or industrious and, finally, class envy because, although all who worked were comparatively better off from pre-republic standards, some still had more.  
The ever enlarging voter base deteriorated into a democracy which had no brakes, no resistance to class envy and the marriage between the expanding poor who could link their vote with unprincipled politicians willing to transfer the fruits of labor from those who produce to those who do not in exchange for their gaining power.  Democracy degenerates into gifting but soon enough there does not exist enough money to sustain the gifting and it ends with an economic crash.  Once despotism replaces democracy there are no constitutional checks. 
Rome repeated the same experiment with a similar result about a century later.  Bread and circuses (free food and entertainment) destroyed the noble idea.
The previous failures were known to the well-read Founding Fathers who wanted the burst in creativity and general prosperity for all as delivered in a republic without the class envy and voter gifting.  What if the powers of government were divided and separated into three branches with each a check on the other two and each given a list of the things they could do with gifting excluded?  What if all powers not specifically mentioned in Article I, Section 8, remained with the states and the people as stipulated?  What if all taxes must be spent only on the items on the list?  What if the federal government could not assume additional power without the consent of 3/4th of the states?  The government could not take over the economy by confiscation or regulation and the poor could never destroy the rich or devour the middle class.  We could never degenerate into democracy then to the most common form of despotism today, socialism—fathered by Karl Marx. 
Not a single sentence in the Constitution gives a benefit to anyone, only an environment of equality where one can maximize his talents.  
In our republic all votes are not equal.  Under the Constitution as designed only the House of Representatives was democratically elected by the people.  State legislators voted for U.S. Senators, an Electoral College selected the President, and he appointed supreme court justices for life confirmed only by the Senate. 
We must apply the brakes of the Constitution to retain our republic.  Otherwise in time the productive classes cannot provide the money that is demanded of them to feed and otherwise subsidize the less productive class.  It already can’t.  We exceed 22 trillion dollars in debt.  Each taxpayer owes the federal government $182,881, payable today (See USDebtClock.org).  Despite unrealistic promises, socialism gives only slavery and shared poverty.  
Gifting must end.  When the banks crash, a new government will form and it will not honor the debt that destroyed its predecessor government, nor is it likely to fund social security, medicare, unlimited war, income security, federal pensions or any other program that contributed to it.  Under socialism freedom does not survive. 


Dr. Harold Pease is a syndicated columnist and an expert on the United States Constitution. He has dedicated his career to studying the writings of the Founding Fathers and applying that knowledge to current events. He taught history and political science from this perspective for over 30 years at Taft College.  Newspapers have permission to publish this column. To read more of his weekly articles, please visit www.LibertyUnderFire.org.

 
 
REDDING – The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans District 2), in conjunction with Hat Creek Construction and Materials, Inc., will begin 24/7 one-way traffic control operations for pavement recycling and overlay on the Chilcoot Pavement Rehabilitation in Lassen and Plumas Counties. The $17.4 million project, funded in part by Senate Bill 1, is rehabilitating 9.5 miles of State Route 70 in and around Chilcoot, from just west of Summit School Drive to just east of the junction with U.S. 395.
 
24/7 one-way traffic control operations are slated to begin on July 9 and will remain in effect until the end of August. Typical delays are anticipated to be 15 minutes, with a two week period of delays of up to 30 minutes. Please look for changeable messages signs in the area advising of changes to schedule. The Caltrans District 2 Public Information Office will also communicate dates with longer delays as information becomes available. Shoulder restoration, reconstruction of metal beam guardrail, and striping are also upcoming on the project, which is currently slated to be completed by November.
 
Speed limit reductions are currently in place within the project limits. Motorists are urged to slow down and drive carefully when in and around construction zones. 
 
Through Senate Bill 1, Caltrans has committed to repair or replace 17,000 miles of pavement, 7,700 traffic signals, signs, and sensors, 55,000 culverts and drains, and 500 bridges by 2027. 
 
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(SACRAMENTO) A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck today near the town of Ridgecrest, in Kern County. It was the strongest earthquake in the region since the 1999 Hector Mine earthquake, and shaking from the main shock and aftershocks was felt throughout Southern California. Damage to local residents is still being evaluated, and our hearts go out to those affected by this earthquake.

This event is an important reminder that all of California is earthquake country. Earthquakes can happen at any time—a magnitude 5.6 earthquake occurred on our northern coast just a couple of weeks ago—and we need to be prepared. It’s important to know what to do to stay safe when the ground starts shaking—drop, cover and hold on!—and to take other steps to prepare to survive and recover from damaging earthquakes, such as to retrofit homes built prior to 1980 and the advent of modern building codes, which may be more vulnerable to earthquake damage, and consider earthquake insurance to protect ourselves financially.
If this earthquake had occurred under a densely populated area, it is likely that California would be looking at many more injuries and at damages in the billions of dollars.
The California Earthquake Authority (CEA) has approximately 2,000 policyholders in the affected area who likely experienced strong shaking. Any damage to their homes would be considered well within CEA’s claim-paying capacity for covered claims. (CEA has more than $17 billion in claim-paying capacity—enough to cover claims from a reoccurrence of the 1906 San Francisco, 1989 Loma Prieta or 1994 Northridge earthquake.)
Information on how to file a CEA policy claim is on CEA’s website. If you have a CEA policy and an earthquake has damaged your house or personal belongings, contact your residential insurance company as soon as possible to start your claim. To learn more about how to prepare to survive and recover from a damaging earthquake, visit EarthquakeAuthority.com.
About CEA
The California Earthquake Authority (CEA) is a not-for-profit, privately funded, publicly managed organization that provides residential earthquake insurance and encourages Californians to reduce their risk of earthquake loss. Learn more at EarthquakeAuthority.com.

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